Making an impact on small and medium sized businesses
Supporting indigenous SMEs emerge stronger, more resilient and better equipped as uncertainty prevails
Over the last year, the indigenous Irish sector has faced many challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, rising energy costs, Brexit, and the impact of the war on Ukraine, and this has resulted in many businesses operating in an environment of ongoing and increasing uncertainty. We recognise that privately owned businesses are the engine room of both the Irish and global economy, and we ensure that we bring the full breadth and depth of the firm’s services to entrepreneurs, families, businesses, and their shareholders.
Through our awards programmes, Ireland’s Best Managed Companies (BMC) and the Technology Fast 50 Awards, we celebrate indigenous success stories as we continuously live our purpose of making an impact that matters. These programmes involve several business units in Deloitte working collaboratively to celebrate the achievements of the organisations involved.
Both programmes provide a welcome platform for Irish owned companies to gain industry recognition and networking opportunities amongst their peers, build their brand and profile, as well as receive numerous supports and coaching on offer from Deloitte and our partners.
Best Managed Companies
Ireland’s Best Managed Companies Awards programme has promoted and recognised excellence in privately owned and managed companies from across the island of Ireland since 2008.
Entrants to the programme compete for the designation in a process that evaluates the calibre of their management abilities and practices as well as the strategy, capability, innovation, culture and financial performance of their companies.
139 companies were successfully designated as a Best Managed Company in 2021. As well as benefiting from the networking opportunities and credibility that the programme affords, the companies also received personalised coaching sessions from both Deloitte and programme sponsor Bank of Ireland, which provided an excellent opportunity for them to review and revaluate their business strategy. We also hosted a day long symposium for the businesses to come together and hear from a wide range of experts on ways to support their growth.
2021 key highlights include:
- 113 BMC Coaches gave personalised sessions to entrants (61 advisors from across Deloitte and 52 advisors from programme sponsor Bank of Ireland)
- 139 companies received Best Managed Company designation
- Best Managed Companies employed over 40,000 people
- The combined turnover of the BMC network was €8.5 billion
Deloitte Technology Fast 50
Celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship, the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 is one of Ireland's foremost technology award programmes. Each year it ranks the country's 50 fastest growing technology businesses and provides a key branding and networking opportunity for the start-up and investor communities.
The growth levels achieved by Fast 50 winners in 2021 were some of the highest ever. This was a testament to the way technology companies adapted and evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, an increasing number of industries were represented across the Top 50 winners which confirms that most companies will ultimately become tech companies, and signals a bright future for Irish businesses across all sectors.
2021 key highlights included:
- Fast 50 winners generated almost €1 billion in total annual revenues and employed over 16,000 people
- The average growth rate of the companies over the previous four years was over 700%
Beyond our award programmes, we have also helped businesses and family offices manage their investments and regulatory and compliance affairs. We have worked with some of the fastest growing, most innovative private businesses in Ireland to establish and address disruption within their sectors. We have supported PE houses and their portfolio companies throughout the various stages of the life cycle, from building robust integrated propositions, to assisting with raising capital investment, right through to helping others with their sale strategy.
