278 Virginia companies make Inc. 5000

Two hundred seventy-eight Virginia companies made the 2015 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private businesses in the country.

The latest Virginia group of businesses on the list represents a slight dip from last year.

Only one Virginia company, Arlington-based Excel Group, a  real estate firm with a three-year revenue growth rate of 3,702 percent, ranked among the 100 companies this year.  It was No. 83.

In 2014, the Old Dominion had 283 companies on the list,  with four firms —  Reliant Asset Management, Prescient Edge, sweetFrog Premium Frozen Yogurt and American Care Partners — all ranking in the top 100.

Arlington-based Reliant ranked No. 3 overall last year with a three-year revenue growth rate of 55,460 percent.

Following Excel in the top 200 companies on the list this year are Virginia firms Bois Blanc Sports at No. 105, Reliant Asset Management at No. 122, Patriot Group International at No. 137,  XGILITY at 144, Ven Soft at No. 169, Heartland Consulting at No. 170 and Global Dimensions at 191.

Excel is a real estate company founded in 2011 that had revenue of $16.6 million last year. It is the top real estate company on the Inc. list and the third-ranked company in the Washington area.

The Washington area, which includes Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland and West Virginia, had 318 companies on the list.

The Richmond area had 19 firms on the list. Charlottesville had seven, Roanoke three, and Blacksburg, Bristol, Culpeper, Harrisonburg and Winchester each had one company on the list.

The list is available at http://www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2015/.