BOURNEMOUTH-based retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone is the biggest mid-market private company in the south west and is ranked no. 14 in Britain, according to the latest Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 league table which is published tomorrow (Sunday).

Now in its third year, the table ranks Britain's 250 biggest mid-market private companies by latest sales.

After 30 years in the business McCarthy & Stone has created 40,000 apartments for 45,000 people.

The company spent two decades on the stock market before being taken private last year by a consortium of investors comprising Bank of Scotland, the Reuben Brothers and Sir Tom Hunter.

In 2006 sales were £370.2m.

The second local business to feature in the table is Sunseeker International.

At 146, Poole-headquartered Sunseeker International is opening a new plant in Dorset to help meet demand for its super-luxury motor yachts.

The company, which recently unveiled a 37-metre triple-deck powerboat costing around £10m, has seen business boom in recent years with wealthy Chinese and Russian buyers. Sales were £202.4m in 2006.

Stuart Grant, UK head of corporate and structured banking at HSBC, the title sponsor of the league table, praised the region's mid-market stars.

"Our mission is to build strong, long-term relationships with clients and assist them in growing into flourishing mid-market companies destined for the Top Track 250 and beyond," he said.

The 250 companies generated combined sales of £58bn and directly employed more than 416,000 staff, representing around 4 per cent of GDP and 1.4 per cent of the UK workforce.

Household names include Weetabix, Selfridges, Warburtons and Virgin Active.