2003 - Fast Track 100 League Table

What is the Fast Track 100 – 2003?
The Fast Track 100 league table ranked Britain’s 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales in 2003 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 2003 Results

Rank	Company	Activity	Location	Year end	Annual sales rise over 3 years	Latest sales £000s	Staff	Comment
1	Redbus Film Distribution	Film distributor	Central London	2002	286.06%	15,160	25	Co-produced Bend it Like Beckham, which took £12m at the box office
2	ADL Healthcare	Pharmaceuticals distributor	Burton upon Trent	2002	241.44%	33,221	14	Founder cites the Dalai Lama and Genghis Khan as his role models
3	GBL International	Drinks supplier	Chesterfield	2002	196.34%	62,189	83	Founder was bankrupt six years ago but now drives a Ferrari
4	Parador Properties	Overseas estate agency	Surrey	2002	187.11%	11,134	30	Sells holiday and retirement homes in Spain, Sweden and Dubai
5	Cater Link	Contract caterer	Kent	2002	141.63%	5,737	280	Provides 150,000 meals a week to schools, care homes and businesses
6	Zig Zag	Tobacco products supplier	Manchester	2002	139.19%	5,499	14	Claims a 20% share of cigarette-paper sales in Britain
7	Bostonair	Recruitment consultancy	Hull	2002	133.89%	3,694	73	Supplied engineers to fit terrorist-proof cockpit doors for Lufthansa [† Latest sales]
8	Ambition Recruitment	Nursing recruitment agency	SW London	2002	130.89%	52,586	95	Provides 24-hour emergency nursing cover for hospitals and care homes
9	Activity Superstore	Activity organiser	Essex	2002	130.06%	4,062	42	Offers flights in Mig jets and bungee jumps of 216 metres
10	Loch Fyne Restaurants	Seafood restaurateur	Twickenham	2002	121.42%	15,731	489	Company's shareholders include six castle owners
11	Saltire Taverns	Themed pub operator	Edinburgh	2002	119.72%	7,290	190	Runs three Frankenstein pubs and two Espionage nightclubs in Scotland
12	House of Bath	Mail-order retailer	Bath	2002	117.10%	16,392	22	Catalogues sell everything from wind-up radios to wax jackets for pets
13	Brandpath Group	Ecommerce technology developer	Marlow	2002	115.82%	140,174	63	Services and distributes phones for partners such as Nokia and Vodafone
14	Northern Underwriters	Insurance broker	Middlesbrough	2002	114.20%	3,896	20	Founders started out selling insurance door-to-door in London
15	Europc	Computer hardware reseller	Glasgow	2002	110.23%	10,599	37	Sells more than 2,000 reconditioned PCs and peripherals every month
16	Carluccio’s	Restaurateur and retailer	Central London	2002	109.50%	12,668	284	Pays for employees to attend lessons in Italian
17	Wraith Accommodation	Portable housing provider	Lincoln	2002	108.45%	7,483	52	Rents 4,000 portable accommodation units to schools and building sites
18	Bluefrog	Marketing agency	Central London	2002	107.31%	7,061	35	Founder set up company with £30,000 borrowed from his mother
19	Allserve Systems	Software developer	Ascot	2002	107.21%	54,085	114	Designed a billing system for Shell's aviation-fuel division
20	Alan Bush Installations	Refrigeration engineer	Bath	2002	106.74%	4,581	108	Installs refrigerated units for Tesco and Sainsbury
21	4 Com	Telecoms systems provider	Salisbury	2002	106.58%	7,105	75	Provides telephone systems for 1,300 small firms in southern England
22	Infinite Global Solutions	Computer software reseller	NE London	2002	105.73%	10,122	15	Sells discounted Microsoft software over the phone and internet
23	Crown Personnel	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	2002	104.21%	17,943	104	Places 1,500 workers a day with clients such as Tesco and Barclaycard
24	Binomial	Insurance underwriter	Surrey	2002	103.82%	55,634	452	Brokers motor insurance for RAC and pet policies for Kennel Club
25	Actix	Telecoms software developer	West London	2002	101.76%	8,920	65	Helps Chinese mobile-phone operators cope with new subscribers
26	Eurocall	Telecoms services provider	Manchester	2002	100.65%	52,327	92	Management recently bought out Energis, which had been an early investor
27	Cable Telecom	Telecoms services provider	Central London	2002	100.57%	12,038	17	Provides telecoms services to the Bank of England and McDonald's
28	Customer Systems	IT consultancy	Surrey	2002	100.38%	5,136	44	Founder started company with £165,000 of own funds
29	HIFX	Foreign exchange provider	Windsor	2002	100.18%	6,813	40	Provides foreign exchange for clients such as Safeway and Royal Mail
30	Ultralase	Eye surgery provider	Leeds	2002	98.68%	18,913	147	Performs more than 1,000 eye operations a month at its 12 clinics
31	Carshock	Car supermarket	Newcastle	2002	97.18%	6,438	23	Claims to sell cars at up to 35% less than manufacturers' list prices
32	Sabio	Call-centre systems integrator	SW London	2002	96.22%	6,545	52	Designed a call centre capable of managing 850,000 calls a day
33	Coflex	Facilities manager	Surrey	2002	94.39%	32,038	209	Won contract to manage London's 'Gherkin' building when it opens
34	Link ICA	Marketing agency	Maidstone	2002	92.59%	7,854	32	Chosen by the Church of England to run campaign to attract worshippers
35	Gladedale	Housebuilder	Dunfermline	2002	92.54%	61,379	137	Founder builds business with acquisitions worth more than £100m
36	Bighams	Food producer	NW London	2002	91.80%	4,211	67	Company sells ready-made meals to Waitrose and Selfridges
37	Redstor	Data storage consultancy	Reading	2002	91.62%	4,298	27	Founders born within a day of each other and went to same primary school
38	Flair Leisure Products	Toy marketer	SW London	2002	91.29%	11,576	25	Markets retro toys including Play-Doh and Sticklebricks
39	Adastra Software	Healthcare software developer	Ashford	2002	90.74%	3,820	56	Claims to deal with 80% of out-of-hours phone calls to doctors' surgeries
40	Mistral Internet Group	Internet service provider	Brighton	2002	89.91%	5,737	45	Provides internet services for the likes of Microsoft and Sony [† Latest sales]
41	Jump Group	Property retailer	Leeds	2002	88.84%	17,845	34	Founder was 22 years old when he set up the company
42	WA Developments	Rail engineering contractor	Cumbria	2002	88.69%	21,015	99	Won £14m contract to help upgrade the west coast main line
43	Northern & Shell Media Group	Publisher & broadcaster	Central London	2002	88.42%	347,592	1,050	Owns Express Newspapers, OK! and Fantasy TV
44	Beaver Management Services	Recruitment agency	Middlesbrough	2002	88.32%	49,985	463	Provides 1,800 workers for the construction industry each week
45	The Bollington Group	Insurance broker	Cheshire	2002	87.55%	3,141	66	Secured insurance to prevent closure of children's care homes
46	Paul Earl	Building services contractor	Sussex	2002	86.19%	10,116	41	Won £280,000 contract to install energy-monitoring units at Sainsbury
47	Fresh Bouquets	Flower supplier	Kent	2002	85.40%	10,635	143	Supplies flowers to 5,000 UK retailers and is expanding into Continent
48	Integrated Communications for Business	Telecoms services provider	Reading	2002	85.06%	10,275	54	Founded with £150,000 investment from business angel
49	Amplefuture	Mobile software developer	Central London	2002	84.93%	16,119	85	Provides celebrity voice-mail messages from David Beckham
50	ServiRail	Rail industry contractor	Oxfordshire	2002	84.62%	16,244	186	Helped develop St Pancras station, preparing it for Channel Tunnel Rail link
51	InfoMedia	Mobile payment provider	Northampton	2002	82.61%	7,851	14	Provides down-loadable ring tones and games for mobile-phone users
52	Central Trust	Loan broker	Norwich	2002	82.36%	39,866	273	Claims to field 35,000 customer inquiries a month
53	Troika	Management consultancy	Central London	2002	82.19%	4,966	42	Founded by three former Accenture consultants
54	Langley Holdings	Engineering equipment maker	Nottinghamshire	2002	81.56%	101,554	1,123	Founder was 22 when he set up company that now has 25 subsidiaries
55	Projectlink	Incentive scheme developer	West London	2002	81.24%	27,652	18	Designs staff motivation schemes for more than 350 British companies
56	Ceramic Prints	Tile maker	Yorkshire	2002	81.22%	33,157	176	Sells 50,000 tonnes of tiles a year, covering 3m square metres
57	City Invoice Finance	Invoice factorer	Manchester	2002	79.76%	4,592	44	Received £5m in start-up funding from Altium Capital
58	Bridgen Enterprises	Rail engineering contractor	NW London	2002	79.03%	18,076	243	Recalled 180 employees within 24 hours to help at Hatfield crash [† Latest sales]
59	Mortgage Advice Services	Mortgage broker	Derby	2002	78.29%	4,288	58	Claims to provide 2,500 loans a year at an average value of £70,000
60	HotelConnect	Hotel reservation agency	NW London	2002	77.36%	15,153	52	Has raised annual hotel bookings from 12,000 to 120,000 since 1998
61	Warmup	Underfloor heating maker	West London	2002	77.02%	3,475	24	Managing director still checks thermostats in customers' homes
62	Ground Construction	Building foundation contractor	North London	2002	76.39%	7,488	10	Co-founder hopes that primary school age sons will take over company
63	Sandhurst Autoprint	Number plate supplier	Berkshire	2002	75.48%	3,241	22	Claims to sell components for 1.5m number plates a year
64	City Refrigeration Holdings	Facilities maintenance provider	Glasgow	2002	74.93%	176,942	8,016	Founder set up charitable trust that has raised more than £500,000
65	Moneysupermarket.com	Financial website operator	Wales	2002	73.74%	13,608	113	Website receives up to 10,000 credit-card and loan applications daily
66	Cedarstape	Adhesive tape distributor	Dundee	2002	73.35%	5,094	32	Distributes 1.2m rolls of tape featuring Disney characters each year
67	Healthcare Services Group	Pharmaceuticals distributor	Buckinghamshire	2002	72.65%	98,354	469	Its fleet of 165 vehicles distributes pharmaceuticals throughout Britain [† Latest sales]
68	Omitec Group	Electronic equipment maker	Wiltshire	2002	72.31%	18,938	180	Developed performance monitoring system for MG Rover's new sports car
69	Princeton Consulting	IT systems integrator	Slough	2002	72.28%	9,164	93	£1.7m investment from 3i and Elderstreet helped fund growth
70	Shire Leasing	Leasing package provider	Staffordshire	2002	71.51%	10,809	49	Provides leasing deals for office equipment to resellers like Panasonic and Toshiba
71	ASTRAC	Business software developer	Warwick	2002	71.26%	7,526	19	Exports to 19 countries account for 92% of sales
72	Carte Blanche Greetings	Greeting card publisher	Chichester	2002	71.04%	35,208	130	Founder sold his motorbike for £5,000 to fund start up of company
73	Iris Nation	Marketing agency	SE London	2002	70.24%	7,768	36	Redeveloped Manchester United 's worldwide membership scheme
74	RDF Media	TV programme maker	West London	2002	69.71%	24,390	155	Won Bafta for Faking It and also produces Wife Swap
75	ClinPhone	Clinical trials processor	Nottingham	2002	69.28%	15,254	198	Handles 100,000 phone calls a month in 70 languages
76	Oakleigh Consulting	IT consultancy	Manchester	2002	69.27%	3,910	30	Claims to have saved government £700,000 on one IT project
77	Secure Valeting	Car valeting provider	Cambridgeshire	2002	69.21%	3,905	16	Cleans up to 5,100 cars a day at garages across southeast England
78	Mercatum	Computer products reseller	Leeds	2002	69.00%	5,411	27	Shareholders sold company in 2002 and bought it back a year later
79	Ambassador Theatre Group	Theatre operator	Woking	2002	68.74%	44,089	1,181	Operates 21 UK theatres and co-produced Up for Grabs, starring Madonna
80	Rolled Gold International	Music distributor	Slough	2002	68.29%	41,246	44	Founders named company after their favourite Rolling Stones album
81	IE Music	Performing artist manager	West London	2002	67.62%	3,457	16	Negotiated £80m deal with EMI for Robbie Williams
82	Freedom Finance	Loan broker	Cheshire	2002	67.52%	16,720	274	Claims that referrals from high-street banks generate 20% of turnover
83	Artizian Catering Services	Contract caterer	Berkshire	2002	67.30%	4,894	149	Uses 12.5 tonnes of coffee and more than 136,000 litres of milk a year
84	Planet PVC Group	Conservatory maker	Preston	2002	67.20%	12,856	94	Installed a conservatory for the snooker star Dennis Taylor
85	Caldeira	Cushion maker	Merseyside	2002	66.99%	4,166	119	Former market trader now produces up to 100,000 cushions a week
86	ANS Group	Hosting services provider	Manchester	2002	66.74%	5,185	44	Started with £100,000 of contracts from founder's former employer
87	Tradex Insurance	Motor insurance underwriter	East London	2002	66.73%	37,423	83	Insured a Sherman tank for on-road use in an advertising campaign
88	Windrush Frozen Foods	Food wholesaler	Oxfordshire	2002	66.49%	8,378	32	Cooks up sample menus for clients such as Bella Pasta and Café Rouge
89	Preferred International	IT recruitment consultancy	Southampton	2002	66.21%	18,187	30	Rewards new staff with a bottle of champagne when they win first contract
90	Hotel Chocolat	Chocolate mail-order	Hertfordshire	2002	66.16%	7,343	70	Claims to have made 2m deliveries of chocolate in past 10 years
91	Travelex	Foreign exchange operator	Central London	2002	65.79%	463,108	4,986	Processes 29m financial transactions a year
92	Runwood Homes	Residential homes operator	Essex	2002	65.69%	17,949	979	Founder bought company for £60,000 and now runs 25 care homes
93	Hedra	Public sector consultancy	Central London	2002	65.21%	21,143	35	Clients include the BBC and the Atomic Weapons Establishment
94	Environmental Waste Controls	Compact waste disposer	Cheshire	2002	65.13%	5,603	55	Handles waste disposal for Blackpool and Blackburn district councils
95	A4e	Outsourced employment adviser	Sheffield	2002	64.42%	35,854	965	Helped ethnic minority groups develop bids for lottery funding
96	Bravissimo	Lingerie retailer	Leamington Spa	2002	63.74%	10,897	86	Stocks more than 50 different styles of bras in sizes above D-cup
97	The Great Little Trading Company	Children's mail-order retailer	Central London	2002	63.66%	11,079	39	Two American mothers launched children's mail-order catalogue [† Latest sales]
98	Oxford Innovation	Business services provider	Oxford	2002	63.50%	3,923	47	Advises 250 start-up companies on fundraising and development
99	Rocco Forte Hotels	Luxury hotel owner and manager	Central London	2002	63.45%	63,713	1,405	Founded by Sir Rocco Forte after hostile takeover of family firm
100	Nando’s	Restaurant operator	Southwest London	2002	63.15%	34,025	1,005	Runs 72 restaurants serving spicy chicken to 20,000 customers a day

* Supplied by Company † Annualised figure

Data Source: www.fasttrack.co.uk

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