2004 - Fast Track 100 League Table

What is the Fast Track 100 – 2004?
The Fast Track 100 league table ranked Britain’s 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales in 2004 over their latest three years. To find out more about the research and to view all the league tables from 1997 to 2023 click here.

Sunday Times Fast Track 100 - Full 2004 Results

Rank	Company	Activity	Location	Year end	Annual sales rise over 3 years	Latest sales £000s	Staff	Comment
1	Opera Telecom	Mobile services provider	Birmingham	2003	431.59%	44,237	42	Has launched Britain’s first soap opera streamed to your mobile phone
2	The Global Draw	Betting terminal supplier	West London	2003	237.46%	12,536	47	£130m is gambled each week through its betting terminals
3	innocent	Fruit drinks maker	West London	2003	205.24%	10,645	32	Founders gave up day job after testing their smoothies at music festival
4	OctopusTravel.com	Online travel agency	Central London	2003	197.54%	59,972	112	Claims to offer hotel bookings for 3,300 cities in 112 countries
5	Gabem	Business services provider	West Sussex	2003	196.98%	8,928	67	Handles accounting, admin and payroll for 25,000 temporary workers
6	beCogent	Call centre operator	Airdrie	2003	189.17%	13,584	849	Scottish operators handle trouble-shooting when AOL customers need help
7	Ingenious	Investor and adviser	Central London	2003	174.06%	33,995	46	Funded and co-produced the hit films Wimbledon and Bride and Prejudice
8	Bargainsound	Petrol retailer	Cheshire	2003	171.29%	22,194	70	Sold 34m litres of fuel last year through nine outlets in northwest England
9	Redbus Film Distribution	Film distributor	Central London	2003	170.18%	20,430	31	Distributed shark thriller Open Water and co-produced Bend It Like Beckham
10	Expansys	Online electronics retailer	Manchester	2003	165.74%	12,579	49	Sells wireless devices like PDAs in more than 20 countries worldwide
11	Boxwood Group	Management consultancy	Leeds	2003	157.63%	18,118	264	Works with Barclays, BAA and Metronet to improve business performance
12	The Somerset Toiletry Company	Toiletry products designer	Somerset	2003	156.89%	4,606	29	Top-selling range of toiletries is scented with pina colada and margarita
13	Firebox.com	Online gadget retailer	SW London	2003	156.09%	4,400	16	Founders invented the shot-glass chess set while chatting in a pub
14	Limehouse	Marketing agency	SE London	2003	154.11%	4,650	28	Helps 100 public-sector organisations communicate with their users
15	Data Locator	Consumer data collector	Watford	2003	151.50%	5,190	382	Founder started company with redundancy payment from previous job
16	Auto Union Finance	Vehicle finance broker	Warrington	2003	144.69%	23,222	58	Brokers vehicle-finance deals on behalf of Black Horse and GE Capital
17	sit-up	Home shopping channel	Central London	2003	139.08%	118,870	413	Sells 25,000 items a day from its three TV home-shopping channels
18	MLS Group	Business centre operator	SE London	2003	138.50%	11,408	66	Rents serviced offices to 800 firms, including Warner Bros and Virgin
19	Qdos Consulting	Tax consultancy	Leicestershire	2003	132.68%	5,215	45	Former Vat inspector at Customs and Excise founded tax consultancy
20	Premier Guarantee	Underwriting agency	Merseyside	2003	132.03%	3,279	15	Arranges warranties that cover £5 billion of new homes
21	UKOS	Office products supplier	Hemel Hempstead	2003	131.96%	8,446	43	Supplies stationery to O2, John Lewis and Associated Newspapers
22	Jump Group	Property retailer	Leeds	2003	130.50%	47,668	129	Founder was 22 years old when he set up the company
23	Lamva	Electrical engineer	Ipswich	2003	129.05%	7,148	107	Connected a Lincolnshire wind farm to the regional electricity network
24	Acoustic Solutions	Consumer electronics supplier	Northamptonshire	2003	121.24%	16,037	30	Designs Pop Idol karaoke machines under licence from the hit TV show
25	Iglu.com	Online travel agency	SW London	2003	119.57%	16,420	63	Founder started firm while finishing his MBA at London Business School
26	Binomial	Insurance underwriter	Surrey	2003	119.33%	78,385	447	Brokers motor insurance for RAC and pet policies for Argos and Homebase
27	Northern Underwriters	Insurance broker	Middlesbrough	2003	117.62%	6,025	26	Claims to work with more than 1,200 regional brokers and City underwriters
28	New Heights	Furniture retailer	NW London	2003	115.60%	6,519	54	Founders met at Oxford University and now run 11 furniture stores
29	York Mailing	Commercial printer	York	2003	113.78%	15,804	180	Says its machines can print up to 250,000 flyers and mail shots an hour
30	1927 London	Designer clothes distributor	SW London	2003	113.75%	5,425	12	Sells designer clothes to Harvey Nichols and Selfridges
31	Veritas IT	IT recruitment agency	Milton Keynes	2003	110.81%	4,175	25	Supplies IT staff to customers such as Abbey, Argos and KPMG
32	AllClear Finance	Personal debt adviser	Cheshire	2003	109.50%	3,739	42	Manages repayments for 10,000 people struggling with unsecured debt
33	Altrix Healthcare	Drug testing laboratory	Warrington	2003	102.36%	3,389	42	Supplies oral testing kits to enforce drug rehabilitation programmes
34	Alpha Health Care	Nursing home operator	Redditch	2003	100.25%	5,705	695	Former GP and Royal Mail doctor runs 11 care homes in central England
35	Credential Holdings	Recycler and developer	Glasgow	2003	99.33%	15,323	76	Claims to be Britain's leading tyre recycler, handling 80,000 tons a year
36	Gladedale	Housebuilder	Dunfermline	2003	99.14%	236,655	412	Founder builds third business through acquisitions [† Latest sales]
37	MNH Vehicle Contracts	Vehicle contract hirer	Blackburn	2003	98.58%	4,112	12	Hires out 3,000 vehicles to 300 businesses on long-term contracts
38	ADL Healthcare	Pharmaceuticals distributor	Burton upon Trent	2003	97.61%	44,746	26	Founder's mother cooks breakfast for whole company every Tuesday
39	Zen Internet	Internet services provider	Rochdale	2003	95.88%	7,809	50	Supplies Umbro and Sony Europe with broadband connections
40	PPF	Driver recruitment agency	Luton	2003	95.81%	12,920	394	Finds drivers from Britain and central Europe for J Sainsbury and Safeway
41	Teleticket Travel	Tour operator	Brighton	2003	94.79%	16,167	18	Sells 85,000 airline seats a year to travel agents such as Lastminute.com [† Latest sales]
42	Loans.co.uk	Loan broker	Watford	2003	94.36%	29,408	145	Claims to sell more than 1,000 customer loans a month [† Latest sales]
43	Latentzero	Financial software developer	Central London	2003	93.81%	8,817	69	Develops asset-management software for the likes of Morgan Stanley
44	Carshock	Car supermarket	Newcastle	2003	93.15%	8,345	45	Claims to sell cars at up to 35% less than manufacturers’ list prices
45	Moneysupermarket.com	Financial website operator	Wales	2003	92.34%	38,143	209	Claims website receives 10,000 credit-card and loan applications daily
46	Union Square Music	Music compilations publisher	Uxbridge	2003	92.29%	4,720	12	Controls the rights to release thousands of back-catalogue music tracks
47	Castleway Construction	Building contractor	Salisbury	2003	91.19%	4,429	15	Founder’s wife, son and daughter all work in the business
48	Carluccio’s	Restaurateur and retailer	Central London	2003	90.39%	19,655	453	Claims 50,000 people eat in its restaurants each week
49	IPT	Consumer data collector	SW London	2003	90.12%	6,139	84	Runs marketing database of 5.4m e-mail addresses
50	Isis Telecommunications	Telecoms services provider	West London	2003	90.11%	14,721	56	Provides telecoms services for 700 companies, including EMI
51	HIFX	Foreign exchange provider	Windsor	2003	90.08%	9,662	66	Claims to manage £20bn of foreign exchange for clients like Royal Mail
52	Cathedral Capital	Insurer and reinsurer	Central London	2003	89.53%	139,934	33	Reinsures against plane crashes, hurricanes and tornadoes
53	Loch Fyne Restaurants	Seafood restaurateur	Twickenham	2003	88.77%	21,849	658	Bought 75% of Raymond Blanc’s Le Petit Blanc chain in 2003
54	19 Entertainment	Music and TV producer	SW London	2003	88.25%	53,372	79	Produces Pop Idol and manages Will Young and Annie Lennox
55	The Car People	Car dealer	Wakefield	2003	87.56%	49,564	82	Sold 6,000 cars last year from its vehicle supermarket in Wakefield
56	Activity Superstore	Activity organiser	Essex	2003	87.48%	5,281	49	Offers flights in Mig jets and the world’s highest bungee jump
57	West Cornwall Pasty Co	Cornish pasty retailer	Cornwall	2003	87.09%	7,598	121	Sells 6m Cornish pasties a year, including a chicken balti variety
58	Silver Software Consultants	Transport software developer	Wiltshire	2003	85.56%	3,116	54	Develops safety software for the new Airbus A380 super-jumbo
59	L&C	Mortgage broker	Bath	2003	85.40%	6,902	111	Founders have appeared on BBC2’s Working Lunch news programme
60	LOMBOK	Furniture retailer	SW London	2003	85.28%	3,574	42	Furniture features in the film Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason
61	Tax Computer Systems	Tax software developer	Staines	2003	85.21%	3,437	32	Software helps the likes of Orange and British Airways calculate tax returns
62	GreenCare Environmental	Hygiene services provider	Worcester	2003	82.18%	3,174	55	Founded by husband and wife with £60,000 in savings
63	Multimap	Online map provider	Central London	2003	81.53%	3,381	40	Supplies online mapping for 700 clients, including Tesco, Shell and Ford
64	Parador Properties	Overseas estate agency	Surrey	2003	81.48%	19,060	97	Claims its property portfolio covers 1,100km of Spanish coastline
65	Comtec	Travel software developer	South Wales	2003	80.70%	6,034	83	Develops travel software for Thomas Cook, Going Places and First Choice
66	Source Software	Financial software developer	South Wales	2003	79.97%	7,205	46	Says 2,500 brokers use its software to compare insurance quotes
67	Beaver Management Services	Recruitment agency	Middlesbrough	2003	78.45%	53,857	467	Provides 1,800 workers for the construction industry each week
68	RAPID	IT component distributor	Lancashire	2003	77.37%	6,694	25	Founder’s father came out of retirement to work for the company for free
69	Worcester Carsales	Car dealer	Worcester	2003	77.12%	40,461	192	Managing director started valeting cars at 11 and sold his first car at 13
70	Business Management Services	IT services provider	Nottingham	2003	76.99%	12,640	17	Founder used to manage women’s football team Notts County
71	ClarityBlue	CRM software developer	Luton	2003	76.77%	11,485	50	Taken private in £10m management buyout from Nasdaq-listed company
72	Highline Building Plastics	Roofing products distributor	Yorkshire	2003	76.63%	3,584	30	Has three-year £650,000 deal to supply roofing products to Wimpey Homes
73	Medley	IT consultancy	Guildford	2003	76.08%	3,740	28	Founder started consultancy business from his family home
74	Provecta Car Plan	Fleet services provider	Reading	2003	76.07%	5,085	43	Manages tax-efficient car ownership schemes for 7,000 UK workers
75	Riviera Produce	Vegetable wholesaler	Cornwall	2003	75.20%	6,798	40	Supplies Asda with 10m cauliflower heads a year from 40 Cornish farms
76	Fasthosts Internet	Internet services provider	Gloucester	2003	74.33%	9,544	67	Hosts more than 1m domain names and delivers 4.5m e-mails each day
77	Fresh Bouquets	Flower supplier	Kent	2003	74.33%	10,940	156	Supplies flowers to 5,000 UK retailers and operates in mainland Europe
78	Babel Media	Games services provider	Brighton	2003	74.12%	3,635	55	Tests all the games that can be played on Vodafone mobile phones
79	Pace	Timber frame maker	Milton Keynes	2003	73.70%	9,083	58	Has £20m deal to provide timber-frame houses to the Home Group
80	Morgan Brookes	Systems integrator	East London	2003	73.07%	4,327	18	Founder sold his Porsche for £12,500 to start company
81	MCM Construction	Building contractor	Isle of Wight	2003	72.86%	6,922	62	Does building work at Parkhurst jail, where the Kray twins were held
82	Ambition Recruitment	Nursing recruitment agency	SW London	2003	71.98%	59,004	133	Provides 24-hour emergency nursing cover for hospitals and care homes
83	Inweb Networks	Telecoms services provider	Surrey	2003	70.98%	3,200	10	Has developed a synthetic voice program that converts e-mails into speech
84	Networks By Wireless	Network developer	Sheffield	2003	69.77%	3,707	34	Chosen as a supplier for £1billion public services broadband scheme
85	Cartel Marketing	Independent mortgage adviser	Manchester	2003	69.34%	4,854	87	Processes some of its British mortgage applications in India
86	Environmental Business Products	Printer cartridge recycler	NW London	2003	69.04%	20,415	141	Makes own-brand inkjet cartridges for Tesco, Dixons and WH Smith
87	Barhale Construction	Civil engineering contractor	Walsall	2003	68.52%	107,277	1,023	Excavated a fighter plane that had crashed in London during the war
88	Suttons Horticulture	Plant producer	King's Lynn	2003	68.47%	14,614	227	Grows 16m plants a year for supermarkets such as Morrisons and Waitrose
89	Direct Trade	PVCu window maker	Doncaster	2003	68.19%	4,345	53	Founders’ former employer is now their main supplier
90	The Holiday Place	Travel agency	NW London	2003	68.10%	15,466	40	Sells holidays to places like the Maldives, Cuba, and Dominican Republic
91	SMS (Southern)	Building services contractor	Brighton	2003	67.70%	3,764	37	Has five-year deal with Brighton city council to refurbish local schools
92	IT Human Resources	IT recruitment agency	Central London	2003	66.43%	4,709	16	Celebrated company’s fifth birthday by taking all staff go-karting
93	Firoka (Heythrop Park)	Luxury hotel operator	Oxfordshire	2003	66.02%	4,369	58	Founder owns chain of Holiday Inns and is chairman of Oxford United FC
94	OneBill Telecom	Telecoms service provider	Worthing	2003	65.99%	8,925	42	Claims 35,000 individuals and small businesses use its phone services
95	Roadside Group	Petrol station operator	Buckinghamshire	2003	65.30%	40,930	48	Road builder and oil executive now run 10 petrol stations in north England
96	Balkan Holidays	Tour operator	Central London	2003	65.24%	44,545	32	Founded by Bulgarian government in 1966 and bought by owners in 1999
97	Molar	Dental products distributor	Somerset	2003	64.81%	3,354	10	Supplies oral hygiene products to half of all dental practices in Britain
98	Centurion Risk Assessment Services	Conflict survival trainer	Hampshire	2003	64.61%	3,098	50	Ran terror survival courses for the media before the Athens Olympics
99	SunQuest Tanning Systems	Tanning equipment maker	Cheshire	2003	63.82%	6,038	81	Founder started by hiring sunbeds in spare room of his chiropodist practice
100	WorldRoam	Mobile phone hirer	Essex	2003	63.49%	10,753	52	American businessmen travelling abroad account for 80% of sales

* Supplied by Company † Annualised figure

Data Source: www.fasttrack.co.uk

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