Fast Track 100 league tables

2008 Fast Track 100 league table - UK

To view a company profile click on the company name

Rank	Company Activity	Sales growth % pa	07/08 sales (Łm)	04/05 sales (Łm)	Comment

1	Hotel Chocolat Stores Chocolate retailer	225.53	‡18.4	*0.5	Opened five new shops in 2008 and now has 30 stores nationwide
2	TorFX Foreign exchange provider	217.08	265.4	*8.3	Top traded currencies are euros, US dollars and Australian dollars
3	Silver Cross Pram maker	179.46	*15.2	*0.7	Sold its first custom-built pram in Beijing this year
4	jjFOX Recruitment consultancy	165.59	‡9.0	*0.5	Expanded to Truro because the directors like surfing and beach cricket
5	The Book Depository Online book retailer	160.15	‡40.2	2.3	Offers free worldwide delivery on every title
6	Burgopak Packaging designer	147.73	‡5.3	*0.3	Founder drew inspiration for his packaging design from children’s pop-up books
7	Paladin Group Property services provider	147.34	15.7	*1.0	Plans to offer energy inspections to ensure compliance with new regulations
8	Manpower Direct Security services provider	143.99	5.6	0.4	Engineering graduates started the company from a converted warehouse
9	Medicare First Recruitment consultancy	142.72	‡10.5	*0.7	Claims to recruit social workers for every local authority in London
10	Probuild Birmingham Shopfitting contractor	142.08	9.4	0.7	Branching out to start refitting schools and local council properties
11	TDX Group Debt management provider	138.94	‡17.3	*1.3	Acquired Madrid-based competitor to kick off international expansion
12	Allen Lane Public sector recruitment consultancy	138.72	16.1	*1.2	Clients include Transport for London and the Royal Horticultural Society
13	Interim Partners Recruitment consultancy	136.57	5.7	0.4	Awarded Age Positive Employer Champion by the Department for Work and Pensions
14	CSG Business finance provider	133.12	‡28.8	2.3	Founder previously set up, ran, and sold off a similar business
15	Practicus Interim management consultancy	132.96	21.7	*1.7	Its three founding directors drew no salary for the first 12 months
16	On Holiday Group Holiday sales agency	127.47	11.4	1.0	Says its management has more than 60 years of experience in the travel industry
17	Towry Law Independent wealth adviser	119.21	49.2	4.7	Made five acquisitions in 2007, including Baker Tilly Financial Services
18	Mayday Healthcare Recruitment consultancy	118.85	11.0	*1.1	Claims its offices haven’t closed in four and a half years
19	Hobson Prior Recruitment consultancy	116.76	8.2	0.8	Supplies highly skilled specialists for drug discovery and approval projects
20	First Point Group Telecoms recruitment consultancy	114.76	‡10.5	*1.1	Headquartered in London but claims not to have a single British client
21	Reflex Vehicle Solutions Vehicle rental provider	114.75	16.1	*1.6	Its 500 clients include DHL and Network Rail
22	ea Consulting Group Business management consultancy	114.35	20.6	2.1	Originally founded to manage change arising from the introduction of the euro
23	Applied Language Solutions Translation services provider	111.43	‡5.5	0.6	Founder was featured on Dragons’ Den and Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire
24	Mentor IMC Group Oil industry consultancy	107.91	28.2	3.1	Iceni Capital recently took a 55% stake in the company
25	New Career Skills Vocational training provider	104.72	5.3	0.6	Counts Halifax Rugby Union player Will Kay as one of its graduate electricians
26	33six Consultancy Recruitment agency	100.62	‡8.1	*1.0	Founder previously set up and sold two businesses
27	Octavian Security Security services provider	100.26	‡8.3	1.0	Placed former Gurkha soldiers as guards at Ikea store in Nottingham
28	DRL Household appliance supplier	99.56	‡81.0	*10.2	Says it has made about 225,000 deliveries this year
29	Asteral Medical equipment provider	98.43	11.1	1.4	Claims most of its staff are clinical scientists, medical engineers or radiation specialists
30	Seven Publishing Group Magazine publisher	96.73	30.8	4.0	Publishes magazines for Sainsbury’s and fashion retailer Asos.com
31	Danbro Payroll services provider	95.79	34.9	4.7	Husband and wife team used a redundancy payout to set up company
32	Global Resourcing IT recruitment consultancy	92.57	9.7	1.4	Is expanding into new sectors such as construction in Dubai and the UAE
33	Ping Pong Restaurant chain	90.89	*10.6	1.5	Founded by the former general manager of Nobu restaurant
34	Kew Green Hotels Hotel operator	90.73	37.4	5.4	Runs the largest Holiday Inn Express in Europe at Stansted airport
35	Cornwallis Elt Recruitment consultancy	90.09	*8.2	1.2	All three directors compete in endurance sporting events for charity
36	innocent Fruit drinks maker	89.14	‡113.2	16.7	Claims 130,000 people a week sign up for its innocent e-mail
37	Balhousie Care Group Care home operator	88.76	8.6	1.3	Sponsors a PhD student at Dundee University to carry out research on dementia
38	Fusion People Technical recruitment consultancy	88.01	34.1	*5.1	Has just opened an office in Perth, Australia
39	Draycott Ward Insurance industry consultancy	87.12	5.6	*0.9	Sales jumped sharply on account of the 2007 floods
40	LNT Group Care home developer	86.6	25.7	4.0	Says it is building 15 new care homes, with capacity for more than 1,000 beds
41	Geothermal International Renewable energy supplier	85.81	‡12.8	2.0	Claims to have laid more than 300,000 metres of pipe to extract ground heat
42	Ice Energy Heat Pumps Renewable energy supplier	85.43	‡7.8	1.2	Recently acquired an underfloor heating company to launch Ice Energy Floor Heating
43	G2 Recruitment Solutions IT recruitment consultancy	84.98	‡16.0	2.5	Recently backed a former employee’s recruitment start-up
44	Holiday Taxis Airport transfer provider	84.31	8.6	1.4	Founder took a job as a holiday rep in Corfu during a gap year and still works in travel
45	Shilton Sharpe Quarry Legal recruitment consultancy	83.07	6.9	1.1	Started from a Fleet Street Starbucks in 2002
46	Oyster Partnership Recruitment consultancy	82.9	‡5.3	0.9	Sponsors carbon offset projects and claims to be fully carbon neutral
47	Miroma Media barter company	80.09	‡9.1	1.6	Founder did barter deal with Regus to secure his first office in St James’s Square
48	FPSG Recruitment consultancy	79.82	52.3	9.0	Made its second acquisition in the oil and gas recruitment sector in a Ł4m deal last year
49	Investigo Recruitment consultancy	79.6	‡19.2	3.3	Undertakes finance recruitment for Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Amazon
50	SPI (Materials) Exhaust component supplier	77.98	9.1	1.6	Claims to supply more than 10m exhaust parts to car makers each month
51	Kinsey Allen Consulting Executive search consultancy	77.69	8.7	1.6	Handles only permanent placements to clients such as JP Morgan
52	Integrated Subsea Services Offshore services provider	77.17	56.2	*10.1	Bank of Scotland Corporate invested a reported Ł80m for a 12.5% stake in April
53	AJ Power Diesel generator manufacturer	76.44	18.0	3.3	Recently launched a range of green generators running entirely on biodiesel fuel
54	No 1 Currency Foreign exchange specialist	75.5	474.1	87.7	Says its new system can process hundreds of exchange transactions per second
55	Alsbridge Outsourcing consultancy	74.43	6.1	1.2	Works with more than 40 clients, including a range of FTSE 100 companies
56	Towergate Insurance Insurance underwriter and broker	72.78	268.9	52.1	Claims to be Europe’s largest privately owned insurance intermediary
57	Acteon Offshore services provider	71.72	194.7	38.5	Acquired competitors in Brazil and Singapore in 2007
58	Gü Chocolate Puds Premium pudding maker	71.07	‡16.8	3.4	Recently started selling hot chocolate served in Waitrose cafes
59	Maria Mallaband Care Group Care home operator	71.03	25.2	5.0	Company also builds and sells retirement apartments
60	Savant Construction consultancy	70.84	‡21.7	4.4	Its construction projects include the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Moscow
61	McLaren Construction Building contractor	70.75	133.8	26.9	Projects include Europe’s first carbon-neutral logistics depot based in Staffordshire
62	People Source Consulting IT recruitment consultancy	68.4	‡5.4	1.1	Set up with a grant from the Prince's Trust
63	Edge Recruits Recruitment consultancy	67.95	‡6.1	1.3	Developed “Job Pods”, video booths where jobseekers can sign up and register CVs
64	Ten Lifestyle Management Concierge service provider	67.71	‡10.0	2.1	Its concierge service advises clients on eco-friendly holidays and energy-efficient homes
65	NET-A-PORTER.com Online fashion retailer	67.32	55.2	11.8	Has received more than Ł10m in funding since its launch eight years ago
66	Health Management Occupational health adviser	66.77	7.6	1.6	Claims to work with 32 FTSE 250 companies
67	Sprue Aegis Safety products manufacturer	66.72	7.3	1.6	Recently launched a new line of wireless fire safety devices
68	Eurostaff Group Recruitment consultancy	65.74	13.2	2.9	Says 12 languages are spoken in its London head office
69	Instant Offices Office supplier	64.98	‡*5.3	1.2	Claims to work with more than 50 FTSE 100 companies
70	Fast & Fresh Restaurants Subway sandwich franchiser	64.55	6.5	1.5	Offers a range of sandwiches containing only 6g of fat or less
71	Go Ape Adventure course operator	63.67	6.1	1.4	Claims to take up to 100,000 bookings a year for its adventure courses
72	Caspian UK Group Burger King franchiser	63.62	41.8	9.5	Claims to be one of the largest Burger King franchisers in Britain
73	Sloane Square Hotel Hotel operator	63.53	6.1	1.4	Has put a laptop, wireless broadband and a PlayStation in every hotel room
74	Oliver Marketing Marketing agency	63.15	‡8.4	1.9	Claims that automated marketing technology is the key to its success
75	Playforce Playground equipment maker	62.71	6.4	1.5	Makes up to 100 installations of its playground equipment per month
76	MSI Group Recruitment consultancy	62.24	‡9.2	2.2	Claims to be the preferred supplier of staff for Ericsson Japan
77	7city Learning Training course provider	61.76	*16.5	3.9	Claims it trains about 20,000 staff each year for clients including HSBC and Citigroup
78	Move with Us Residential property broker	61.3	27.9	6.6	Says it sold more than Ł500m worth of part-exchange property in the last year
79	Dawnus Construction Civil engineering contractor	61.16	68.8	16.4	Projects include an environmentally sustainable centre on Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire
80	Henleys Clothing Fashion retailer	60.65	‡25.7	6.2	Now has a new retail division with nine stores nationwide
81	Abel & Cole Organic produce retailer	60.49	27.9	6.8	Food past its sell-by date feeds animals at Longleat Safari Park and the London Zoo
82	Lucy Wernick & Associates Clothing wholesaler	59.41	11.6	2.9	Founder started with a Ł1,500 council grant and a loan from her father
83	Tonic Life Communications PR consultancy	59.18	5.1	*1.3	Has offices in New York City, Dallas and western France
84	Connex Recruitment Recruitment consultancy	58.66	‡6.7	1.7	Owner founded the business with Ł7,000 in savings
85	Just Lamps Projector lamp supplier	57.92	‡21.4	5.4	20% of sales now come from its own-brand lamps that the firm manufactures itself
86	PineSolutions.co.uk Wood furniture retailer	57.69	‡7.2	1.8	Claims to be carbon-neutral and that only two of its staff use cars to commute
87	Simply Biz Support services provider	57.53	10.7	2.7	Says its non-profit business academy has helped 2,000 users in six months
88	Ink Publishing Airline magazine publisher	57.52	25.3	6.5	Publishes in-flight magazines in 17 languages, including Chinese, Polish and Khmer
89	DriveTech Driver trainer	56.82	10.1	2.6	Claims to train drivers for more than 200 corporate fleets, including Sainsbury’s
90	Henry Howard Finance Business finance provider	56.74	29.8	7.7	Claims to handle up to 300 lease transactions monthly
91	Parasol Payroll services provider	56.36	249.0	*65.1	Claims to provide employment services for more than 25,000 contractors
92	1927 London Designer clothes distributor	55.65	23.1	6.1	Recently launched a baby lifestyle brand created by Bon Jovi's drummer
93	Joules Clothing retailer	55.25	22.2	5.9	Claims its childrenswear is John Lewis’s best-selling children’s line this season
94	Creativevents Catering services provider	54.93	‡10.2	2.8	Provides bar and catering services to the Red Bull Air Race and Cartier Polo
95	GGR-UNIC Lifting solutions provider	53.92	12.8	3.5	Its cranes were used to raise the floor of a swimming pool without draining the water
96	Portfolio Payroll Payroll recruitment consultancy	53.64	7.4	*2.0	Clients include HMV, Citibank and Sony
97	Tyrrells Potato Crisps Potato crisps producer	53.61	‡12.9	3.6	Newest potato chip flavours include beef and horseradish and ale and cheese
98	Cameron Black Design and construction provider	53.45	‡10.3	2.8	Says 80% of projects are within 10 miles of the company’s front door
99	Felicini Restaurant chain	53.26	6.8	1.9	Its Manchester branch is rumoured to be one of Wayne Rooney’s favourite eating spots
100	STATS Group Pipeline engineer	52.83	8.8	2.5	Recently opened offices in Houston and the UAE
* annualised figure ‡ unaudited accounts