A Steeton company has been ranked in Britain’s top three for fastest-growing profits.

Figures show that Acorn Stairlifts increased its profits by 142 per cent a year to hit £12 million in 2012.

The details are contained in a 15th annual Sunday Times league table of the country’s private companies.

Acorn heads six Yorkshire firms, and is third overall, in the 100-strong list.

John Jakes, the founder and chief executive officer of Acorn Stairlifts, said he was delighted at the company’s ranking.

“It’s an honour to be recognised like this and I’m very pleased,” he told us. “We are a small management group guiding a great bunch of people.

“The team is home grown, committed and smart – all the praise belongs to them.”

Acorn – based at the Millennium Business Park – was founded in 1992 and initially bought, reconditioned and resold pre-owned stairlifts, and bought-in new lifts from other UK manufacturers.

Today the company is a world leader in the production, installation and innovation of stairlifts.

It employs 1,000 people worldwide – with offices in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Germany – and 500 at its Steeton headquarters.

More than 50,000 stairlifts are built every year at its UK factories.

Innovative designs include the modular rail system, used to install lifts on curved staircases.

The BDO Profit Track 100 league table shows that together the six Yorkshire companies listed achieved profits of £55m and had created 420 extra jobs in three years.

Nationally, firms incresed their profits by an average of 66 per cent a year to a combined figure of £1.6 billion.

Over 31,000 extra employees were taken on.

Terry Jones – partner and head of Yorkshire at BDO, title sponsor of the table – said: “Britain endured the longest recession within the G7, yet entrepreneurial businesses in the region and across the UK are bouncing back more strongly than their international counterparts.

“Yorkshire’s most profitable companies have remained focused, positioning their businesses for – and helping to create – the economic recovery we are now witnessing.”