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Some Sunshine State cities showed up on a recent ranking from Raleigh, N.C.-based software company Malartu of the top 10 metro areas for middle-market investing.
Malartu, in the introduction to the ranking, acknowledges there are varying definitions for middle-market companies. “Despite these discrepancies,” it says, “the idea behind the numbers is the same: middle market firms are bigger than startups and smaller than big businesses.”
It also says middle-market growth rates have skyrocketed in recent years and the sector represents a great place to invest. That leads to the question Malartu asks: “Where can we find the best, fastest-growing, most-successful middle market firms to invest in?”
The answer comes in a ranking the company developed by examining data from Forbes and The Brookings Institution. The ranking Malartu developed includes five areas in Florida and three on the state's west coast.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers tops the list at No. 1. Malartu lists primary three industries for the area — health care, real estate and tourism. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton comes in at No. 3, with health care and insurance as primary industries. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is No. 6 with defense, financial services and technology as primary industries.
Malartu says despite Cape Coral-Fort Myers being at the top of the list, there are less funds focused there than other areas on the list. But it also says Cape Coral-Fort Myers seems to have less competition and more opportunity than bigger cities such as Miami and Orlando. It concludes: “We expect to see more action there in the next few years.”
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