Ranked 76th in the table, it recorded sales of £20.1m and achieved a 50 per cent annual sales growth during the three years to June. It is Flame’s first appearance in the business league table.

John Savage, founder and managing director of the company, said: “This is an amazing accolade and is testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone connected with Flame Heating Group.

“We started out in 2011 with one branch in Team Valley and have since expanded to operate eight trade counters across the North East, one in the North West and three in Scotland.

“Flame has also opened four-bathroom showrooms to both trade customers and the general public, as well as launching our own Azure bathroom range.

“Our success is based on innovation, ambition and customer service and we plan to build upon this achievement by opening further branches in the coming months and years.

“We have experienced significant growth in a relatively short space of time and I’m delighted Flame continues to be recognised on the national stage. It is especially pleasing that this is for our growth in sales, which reflects our quality products and dedication to customer satisfaction.

“We are now a member of a prestigious club, as this league table is highly regarded in the business world. Our 70 staff can be very proud as they have all made a very valuable contribution.”

Flame’s approach was praised by the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Mike Cherry, in October during a visit to its head office. The firm was named Scale-Up Business of the Year by the FSB at its national Celebrating Small Business Awards earlier this year.