The EDP's 2010 Top 75 business guide has been launched. Here we take a look at what it tells us about East Anglia's economy.

Further gloom is expected to be signalled in the UK today.

Mervyn King is expected to slash growth forecasts for the UK and say inflation will spike later this year before easing in 2012.

The news will follow recent gross domestic product figures which showed the economy had been flat for six months.

But it is not all gloom here in East Anglia, according to the EDP's 2011 Top 75 business guide, a list of the 75 biggest firms by turnover in the region, published with today's EDP.

And the region still has plenty going for it, according to a leading economist speaking at the Top 75's launch yesterday morning – so long as businesses invest.

The guide shows the region's 75 biggest companies have on the whole proved their mettle against a stuttering national economy.

Total turnover of the Top 75 businesses rose to �24.5bn, from �22.5bn in 2010.

Even stripping out Aviva's UK sales, the figure is still up, at �9.6bn compared to �9.3bn.

One of the strongest sectors listed was financial services, according to an analysis of the Top 75. It saw a 13pc rise in sales and a 26pc rise in pre-profits – employing more than 24,000 in the county.

Food, drink and agriculture, the second largest sector by turnover and number of companies listed, also saw a strong rise at 4pc, although rising commodity prices were perhaps reflected in a 10pc dip in pre-tax profits at those firms.

Craig Douglas, senior manager at PwC, which co-sponsors the guide with Mills & Reeve, said: 'It is very encouraging, yet again, to see a year-on-year increase in the overall turnover of the Top 75.

'It is also interesting to note that the Top 75 companies have recorded a marginal increase in staff numbers from this time last year – a positive sign for the region as a whole.'

The increase in staffing numbers from 95,680 in the 2010 guide to 96,900 in this year's Top 75 is backed up by figures showing that numbers claiming job seekers allowance in Norfolk dropped from 19,300 to 17,800 in March 2010 compared with March 2011.

Speaking at the launch, economist Sean Rickard, a senior lecturer at Cranfield School of Management, also said: 'In my opinion business is better than people think.'

And according to a survey of East Anglian businesses carried out as part of the Top 75, and devised by PwC and Mills & Reeve, confidence is high.

James Hunter, senior partner at Mills & Reeve, said 48pc of businesses surveyed chose the two highest of five options to rate how confident they felt about business.

However, the Top 75, printed in a league table, is not an entirely rosy picture.

This year's table has two significant omissions, highlighting pressures in the retail and property sectors – that of electrical retailer Bennetts, which went into administration earlier this year, and two large subsidiaries of property developer Targetfollow, which were forced into administration over debts of about �700m to Lloyds Banking Group.

Mr Douglas said: 'The construction sector is the hardest hit this year in terms of an overall decrease in turnover.'

Some automotive businesses struggled too.

Chris Starkie, chief executive at economic development partnership Shaping Norfolk's Future and Caroline Williams, chief executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, have both predicted unemployment will rise for some time before it falls as public sector cuts continue.

Stimulous measures announced by the government – including investment in Norwich Research Park and dualling the A11 – will take time to have an impact.

Mr Rickard pointed to the need to close the gap between exports and imports from and into UK.

However, with sectors spanning from life sciences to food and farming and green technology, the region is still well placed for growth, says Mr Rickard.

Speaking at the launch of the Top 75 yesterday morning, attended by many of the leaders of those businesses, he said of East Anglia: 'Sciences and green technology will surely grow strongly and farming is set for some of the best years ever because the world is running short of food. And we are entering an era with more focus on the private sector.'

In fact, one of the new entrants to this year's Top 75 is Seajacks.

The Great Yarmouth-based firm, which owns and leases two jack-up vessels to offshore wind farm developers, with a third vessel being constructed, has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2006.

Its latest listed turnover was �35.5m in the year to the end of December 2009, which put it at 73 in this year's table.

However, on the firm's most recent estimated turnover, at �70m, it would be at 43.

Another new entrant is Saxlingham Thorpe-based Duffields Mills, at 66.

But if the growth is to continue, Mr Rickard said, businesses will have to invest. He said it was unlikely the public sector will pick up the slack from the redundancies being made in the public sector, although the East would be less hard hit than areas like the north.

'Technically the recession may be over but the next two years will grow slowly and painfully,' he said. 'The recovery will depend on inflation falling and how fast businesses invest.'

There have been signs of rising investment. The question was, will it continue?

? In addition to the glossy magazine published in today's EDP, there is a Top 75 microsite: www.edp24.co.uk/top75

Not only does it list and profile the Top 75, it also has an interactive table, which lets you rank firms by turnover, pre-tax profit and staffing numbers - and the percentage increase of those areas on the previous year.

It also has the full results of the Top 75 survey, carried out in partnership with sponsors PwC and Mills & Reeve, and analysis of the results.

elaine.maslin@archant.co.uk