It is widely predicted that by 2020 about one-fifth of new cars in Britain will be electric. Pod Point’s founder, Erik Fairbairn, 39, anticipated this trend in 2009 when he started his London firm, which develops and installs vehicle charging points in homes, businesses and public spaces. To date it has sold more than 27,000 units to customers including Sainsbury’s, the National Trust and Heathrow Airport. Sales reached £6.4m in 2015, when the company raised £3.8m in two rounds of crowdfunding.