Fast Track 100

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Rank Company Location Year end Annual sales rise over 3 years Latest sales £000s Staff Comment
1 Travel RepublicTravel agency SW London 2007 284.23% 14,640 74 Claims to book holidays for more than one million passengers a year
2 Oceanteam 2000Offshore services provider Great Yarmouth 2006 206.45% 20,147 78 Inspects offshore gas installations for the oil and gas industries
3 Police RecruitPolice recruitment agency SE London 2006 183.39% 13,034 31 Acquired by the security firm G4S in October
4 AJ PowerDiesel generator manufacturer Northern Ireland 2007 180.83% 10,750 46 Irish Embassy in Tanzania relies on its generators during power cuts
5 Inside Ideas GroupMarketing services provider Central London 2007 178.49% 6,085 30 Counts Britvic and Axa Insurance among its clients
6 Simply BizSupport services provider Huddersfield 2006 175.34% 7,483 57 Founded by the chairman of Huddersfield’s football and rugby clubs
7 Flat TV CompanyElectrical goods retailer Oxford 2007 162.59% 5,731 10 Is looking to grow sales on the back of the switch-over to digital television
8 4L’s PackingPacker and distributor Doncaster 2006 160.52% 21,413 100 Has won new contracts with independent builders’ merchants
9 Head ResourcingRecruitment agency Edinburgh 2006 159.84% 7,812 29 Founders sold two previous recruitment companies for £12.5m
10 InvestigoRecruitment consultancy Central London 2007 159.80% 11,505 31 Investigo is Latin for ‘to search for’ or ‘to track down’
11 Probuild BirminghamShopfitting contractor Birmingham 2007 150.71% 5,159 65 Fits out up to 100 supermarkets each year, including Co-op and Tesco stores
12 Silver CrossPram maker Skipton 2007 148.28% 10,646 26 Sells £900 baby carriages handmade to the same design as the 1877 original
13 Custom TVDigital TV installer Croydon 2006 147.63% 10,428 150 Is targeting Spain, France and the Far East for expansion
14 Contractor UmbrellaPayroll services provider Colchester 2006 147.00% 32,213 10 Is planning expansion into the contracting market for teachers and oil-rig workers
15 Melrob GroupChemicals distributor West Sussex 2006 144.46% 8,698 13 Recently expanded into Japan and the Benelux countries
16 Harkand GroupOffshore services provider Aberdeen 2006 141.37% 34,754 42 Reportedly signed a contract in July worth £240m over six years
17 Ice Energy Heat PumpsRenewable energy supplier Oxfordshire 2007 140.80% *5,025 40 Sells green heat pumps to the Duchy of Cornwall and the National Trust
18 Paladin GroupProperty services provider Bath 2007 131.44% 11,469 182 Acquired three businesses for £8.5m last year
19 ECU GroupCurrency manager Central London 2006 130.16% 7,127 32 Manages multi-currency mortgages in yen, euro, Canadian and American dollars
20 AlpharoomsHotel booking agency Sheffield 2006 121.23% 5,522 57 Claims to process more than 150,000 hotel room bookings a year
21 Henry Howard FinanceBusiness finance provider Newport 2006 120.66% 18,761 13 Says it processes 300 business loans a month
22 Mint Financial ServicesFinancial advisers' network Chesterfield 2006 119.05% 13,088 28 Aims to run a paperless office, one that is entirely IT based
23 Frazer & TabbererSteel pipes manufacturer Birmingham 2007 118.18% 11,258 10 Claims its products save the water industry £1.7m a year
24 Health ManagementOccupational health adviser East Sussex 2006 117.29% 5,726 108 Says it looks after 300,000 employees, offering advice on health and fitness
25 CSGBusiness finance provider SE London 2007 112.33% 20,669 19 Founder started the firm with proceeds from the sale of a previous loan business
26 Eterniti SteelsSteel products provider West Yorkshire 2007 106.94% 19,973 15 Founder started business aged 28 with only £8,000
27 SPI (Materials)Exhaust component supplier Staffordshire 2006 105.14% 8,848 14 Tighter car emission controls have boosted demand for its exhaust components
28 Cornwallis EltRecruitment consultancy Central London 2007 101.74% 9,750 14 Has benefited from the boom in the City, providing IT specialists
29 Richmond GroupFinancial services provider Bournemouth 2006 101.68% 7,139 121 Unable to afford advertising, founder walked 300km delivering 30,000 leaflets
30 DanbroPayroll services provider Blackpool 2007 101.35% *15,169 30 Husband-and-wife team started the business with redundancy pay
31 Enterprise Broker ServicesMortgage and loan distributor North London 2006 101.04% 7,487 72 Promethean Investment bought a 30% stake for £8.5m in April
32 PIPCManagement consultancy Central London 2007 100.88% 19,036 266 Recently set up operations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
33 Lucy Wernick & AssociatesClothing wholesaler Central London 2007 99.30% 9,556 10 Ships American fashion brands to the likes of Harrods and Harvey Nichols
34 Premium Appliance BrandsKitchen appliance supplier Cheshire 2006 98.47% 20,600 25 Newly-acquired celebrity-endorsed brands include Oz Clarke
35 StaffgroupRecruitment consultancy Central London 2007 97.47% 8,593 31 Co-founder worked at 1998’s No 1 Fast Track 100 company, Progressive Computer
36 WidgetElectronic goods distributor Stevenage 2007 95.23% 27,024 16 Hopes its new pocket web surfer will be a Christmas ‘must-have’
37 Dolphin MusicMusical equipment retailer Liverpool 2007 93.38% 9,295 54 Plans to open shops all over Britain and on the Continent
38 Elliott ThomasSpecialist construction contractor Surrey 2006 93.28% 17,694 183 Helped refurbishment operations after the Buncefield fuel depot explosion
39 MaximusRecruitment agency Central London 2006 92.48% 5,146 10 Founder’s charity Giving Back ploughs profits into projects in his homeland India
40 innocentFruit drinks maker West London 2006 92.25% 75,639 121 Celebrating its fourth year in a row on the Fast Track 100 league table
41 Astbury MarsdenRecruitment agency Central London 2006 92.18% 18,251 47 Underwent a £17.5m management buyout backed by NVM Private Equity in July
42 Feel Good DrinksFruit drinks maker Central London 2006 91.41% *5,923 16 Sells 2m bottles of Feel Good Drinks every month
43 HQUKBeauty products retailer Central London 2006 91.00% 8,798 46 Hair and beauty store helped contestants on television’s How to Look Good Naked
44 Just LampsProjector lamp supplier Berkshire 2007 89.01% 10,913 25 Says it sells lamps for all types of data projectors
45 Drivers DirectRecruitment agency Warwickshire 2006 88.23% 5,897 28 Four colleagues formerly at a recruitment agency set up their own business
46 Oriel SecuritiesStockbroker Central London 2006 87.97% 18,808 76 Offers stock-market brokerage services to the likes of Standard Life
47 RIF WorldwideLogistics services provider West London 2006 87.72% 6,719 28 Company raised £200,000 start-up funds from Hong Kong investor
48 Compello Staffing GroupRecruitment consultancy Glasgow 2006 87.26% 35,305 96 Acquired an oil and gas consultancy for £4m to expand in the sector
49 Gü Chocolate PudsPremium pudding maker West London 2007 87.20% *11,335 20 Gü chocolate puddings are sold in 3,000 British and 500 French supermarkets
50 Morgan HuntRecruitment agency Central London 2007 85.49% *54,963 112 Is beefing up its regional presence with new offices in Leeds and Newcastle
51 WFCAMarketing agency Kent 2006 85.49% 16,645 47 Based in Tunbridge Wells, bills itself as “a London agency, not in London”
52 CreativeventsCatering services provider Central London 2006 84.97% †7,626 140 Provides catering at sporting events such as Royal Ascot
53 LNT GroupCare home developer Leeds 2006 83.91% 13,068 47 Founder is a motorsport enthusiast who won Le Mans 24-hour race in 2006
54 Springfield PropertiesHousebuilder Moray 2006 82.84% 28,817 195 Working on a £12m commercial development project in Elgin in Scotland
55 Fuel RecruitmentRecruitment agency Leamington Spa 2007 82.52% 5,529 17 Expansion into the broadcast and construction sectors fuelled growth
56 33six ConsultancyRecruitment agency Central London 2006 82.13% 6,067 14 Founder previously ran and sold two other businesses
57 Pagazzi LightingLighting reseller Glasgow 2006 81.32% 5,629 71 Claims to have increased its number of customers tenfold since 2003
58 MaxximaRecruitment agency Essex 2006 80.90% 10,513 185 Provides health and social-care staff to public and private sectors
59 Towergate InsuranceInsurance underwriter and broker Maidstone 2006 79.99% 237,587 2,545 Has acquired more than 100 insurers since being founded 10 years ago
60 Dunne GroupCivil engineering contractor West Lothian 2006 77.27% 36,216 430 Specialises in building reinforced concrete structures
61 PlayforcePlayground equipment maker Wiltshire 2006 76.82% 5,181 34 Founder set up the company aged 24 with a £5,000 loan from the Prince’s Trust
62 7city LearningTraining course provider Central London 2006 76.67% 11,239 68 Teaches financial courses for Barclays and Deutsche Bank
63 Barchester HealthcareCare home operator Southwest London 2006 76.48% 327,900 12,562 Provides nursing and care services at 170 retirement homes nationwide
64 Easy ComputersLaptop and TV reseller Huddersfield 2007 76.29% *47,512 47 Evolved from a failing business that the founder bought for £3,000 in 1999
65 Maria Mallaband Care GroupCare home operator Leeds 2006 76.05% 17,685 879 Founder named company after his great-grandmother who was a nurse
66 Dawnus ConstructionCivil engineering contractor Swansea 2006 75.89% 43,214 170 Set up by six former directors of the construction company Taylor Woodrow
67 Global ResourcingIT recruitment consultancy Bromley 2006 75.88% †8,052 26 Founder started the business by remortgaging his house
68 Abel & ColeOrganic produce retailer Wimbledon 2006 74.83% 19,818 219 Sold a stake to Phoenix Equity Partners in October
69 Card FactoryGreeting card retailer Wakefield 2006 74.38% 72,122 1,847 Founders began by selling greetings cards from the back of a van
70 AO.comHousehold appliance supplier Bolton 2007 73.10% 52,846 117 Claims to sell 6,000 large domestic appliances online a week
71 Vision CallMobile eyecare provider Glasgow 2007 72.46% *7,563 138 Brings mobile eye and hearing tests to the elderly and housebound
72 Power On ConnectionsElectricity connection provider Leicester 2007 71.93% 11,120 50 Five co-founders used savings to set up electricity connections business
73 Henleys ClothingFashion retailer Manchester 2007 71.81% *14,123 40 Its first retail outlet reached sales of £1.6m in its first year
74 AdConnectionMedia agency Wimbledon 2007 71.66% 7,004 14 Offers media planning and buying advice to online retailer CD Wow
75 OvalInsurance broker Wakefield 2007 70.63% 60,012 844 Acquired more than 20 companies in less than four years
76 Really Useful ProductsStorage box supplier West Yorkshire 2007 69.72% 12,713 39 Sells patented archive storage boxes for DVDs, folders and files
77 northerncareCare home operator Blackpool 2006 68.25% 13,427 422 Plans to open another 10 residential homes for children next year
78 McLaren ConstructionBuilder Essex 2006 67.66% 71,008 88 Is constructing a £28m development project in Nottingham for British Land
79 David Ormerod Hearing CentresHearing aid supplier North Wales 2006 67.65% 20,338 203 Swiss hearing-aid manufacturer Phonak recently acquired a 49% stake
80 MSI GroupRecruitment consultancy Central London 2006 67.58% 7,653 26 Counts blue-chips such as the NHS, Orange and T-Mobile among its clients
81 Red CommerceSAP recruitment agency Central London 2007 66.80% 32,190 85 Recruits SAP experts across Europe for Philips, Sony and IBM
82 Astus UKCorporate bartering specialist Central London 2007 65.67% 22,284 10 Daimler Chrysler and Vodafone use its corporate bartering services
83 Pharmalink ConsultingRegulatory affairs consultancy Maidenhead 2006 64.87% 6,651 50 Claims to provide consultancy to 9 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies
84 Tyrrells Potato CrispsCrisps and snacks producer Herefordshire 2007 64.74% 8,523 59 Is launching an upmarket vodka to use up spare potatoes
85 Meade-King Robinson & CoChemicals supplier Liverpool 2007 63.81% 29,781 20 Formed 140 years ago as an importer of whale oil, molasses and kerosene
86 Clipper Logistics GroupWarehousing and distribution Leeds 2006 63.34% 86,184 1,829 Delivers fashion brands to the high street, including New Look and Harvey Nichols
87 SEKO LogisticsLogistics services provider Slough 2007 63.31% 17,281 57 Transports M&S and TK Maxx products from Asian factories to the high street
88 ActeonSubsea services provider Norwich 2006 63.04% 121,507 566 Has acquired four companies in the past 12 months
89 Personal Touch Financial ServicesFinancial services provider West Midlands 2006 62.80% 76,696 171 LDC bought a minority stake in a £50m deal last September
90 Graig Shipping GroupShip manager and owner Cardiff 2006 62.32% 23,098 90 Claims to have commissioned the largest ship ever built in Vietnam
91 Knightsbridge GuardingSecurity services provider Central London 2006 62.01% 24,602 785 Provides security services to the London Stock Exchange
92 Riverford Organic VegetablesOrganic produce retailer Devon 2007 61.95% 23,120 243 Founder started the business with just a wheelbarrow and tractor
93 SEHCivil engineering contractor Ipswich 2006 61.20% 129,454 602 Joined forces with Atkins to bid for highway management contracts
94 Specialist Hire GroupIndustrial vehicle provider Leicestershire 2006 60.84% 20,991 258 Co-founder helped build Lex Harvey forklift trucks into a £220m business
95 Healthcare at HomeHome healthcare provider Burton upon Trent 2006 60.46% †346,660 664 Investor Apax sold to management and Hutton Collins in a reported £230m deal
96 No 1 CurrencyForeign exchange specialist Edinburgh 2006 59.65% 183,457 16 Has a network of 221 franchised bureaux de change outlets across Britain
97 Morgan Law RecruitmentRecruitment consultancy Central London 2006 59.59% 11,364 23 Provides recruitment services for the Church of England
98 Wind ProspectWind energy developer Sussex 2006 59.35% 5,560 67 Is responsible for developing and constructing more than 75 wind farms worldwide
99 Liv-exFine wine exchange Southwest London 2006 59.32% 10,639 12 Produces an index ranking the world’s top 100 wines for investment
100 GGR-UNICLifting solutions provider Oldham 2006 59.14% 7,911 27 Formula Ford champion set up the company with racing winnings

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