Keep an eye on these five companies

In the last of our end-of-year pieces, business writers COREENA FORD and TOM KEIGHLEY pick their five companies to watch in 2026

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The cyber security specialist has seen significant growth since first launching on Tyneside last year.

The company announced a significant investment into its secure operations centre at Portland, initially creating 10 jobs, but over the last year it has created even more skilled jobs on the back of rocketing demand for its services.

Launched seven years ago, Precursor provides solutions to help businesses stay secure, with its 24-hour service offering cloud security, continuous security testing, backup and restore solutions, compliance services, incident response and penetration testing.

And the firm's CEO Scott Cardow picked Newcastle because of the North East's strong investment ecosystem, and access to tech talent and institutions like Newcastle University, which is known for its computing and cyber security expertise.

Sayturk Group

Newcastle-based hospitality company Sayturk Group has spent the year bucking challenging trends to expand its presence in the North East.

While many leisure firms have battled rising costs, with a number of high-profile firms closing in the region, Sayturk Group has grown significantly.