2005 - Fast Track 100 League Table

What is the Fast Track 100 – 2005?
The Fast Track 100 league table ranked Britain’s 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales in 2005 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 2005 Results

Rank	Company	Activity	Location	Year end	Annual sales rise over 3 years	Latest sales £000s	Staff	Comment
1	ghd	Hair products supplier	Central London	2004	364.80%	46,123	73	Sells 2m ceramic styling irons a year to hair salons and consumers
2	The Global Draw	Betting terminal supplier	West London	2004	307.71%	32,010	91	Claims that 2,200 British bookmakers use its betting terminals
3	Lewis Day Transport	Transport services provider	Central London	2004	302.64%	19,573	159	Transport firm makes 8,000 deliveries a day for clients such as JP Morgan
4	Covion	Facilities management provider	Berkshire	2004	232.86%	10,297	354	2005 buyout saw six founding investors receive 10 times their investment
5	Premier Guarantee	Underwriting agency	Merseyside	2004	178.83%	7,220	17	Claims to have more than £10bn of new housing under its warranties
6	Optionis	Professional services group	Warrington	2004	168.56%	65,133	1,582	Manages the tax affairs of 7,000 freelance IT and other contractors [† Latest sales]
7	Expansys	Online electronics retailer	Manchester	2004	155.44%	22,869	127	Claims to sell 3,000 PDAs, smartphones and MP3 players a week online
8	Work	Recruitment services agency	Central London	2004	149.67%	31,051	116	Conducts recruitment campaigns for JP Morgan, Vodafone and Nestlé
9	Dr Foster	Healthcare market analyst	Central London	2004	144.51%	6,825	70	Benchmarks hospitals for mortality rates and surgery waiting times
10	Bluefish Office Products	Office products supplier	Northampton	2004	143.79%	13,202	53	Provides 30,000 office products to clients such as Levi's and Greene King
11	Littlestar Services	Musical producer	Central London	2004	136.50%	23,131	16	Claims to have sold 24m tickets worldwide for hit musical MAMMA MIA!
12	Qdos Consulting	Tax consultancy	Leicestershire	2004	132.23%	6,877	50	Employment-law software wins 10,000 subscribers in six months
13	Coffee Nation	Self-service coffee operator	High Wycombe	2004	131.50%	8,072	21	Claims its self-service bars sell 700,000 cups of gourmet coffee a month
14	VSG	Security provider	Northampton	2004	130.98%	31,529	1,659	Won a £10m contract this year to provide B&Q; with security guards
15	Gladedale	Housebuilder	Dunfermline	2004	126.52%	348,286	639	Bought construction company Country & Metropolitan for £72m this year
16	Martek Marine	Marine systems provider	Rotherham	2004	121.31%	3,498	24	Sells marine monitoring systems in 80 countries to clients such as BP
17	Red Commerce	SAP recruitment agency	Central London	2004	117.29%	6,936	40	Recruits SAP experts across Europe for Philips, Sony and IBM
18	Microline	Mobile phone retailer	Middlesex	2004	110.05%	9,879	24	Sells more than 6,000 mobile phone contracts a month
19	Move with Us	Residential property broker	Cambridgeshire	2004	109.17%	5,338	67	Processed 4,000 part-exchange property deals this year for developers
20	Chemicare Health	Pharmaceuticals retailer	St Helens	2004	108.72%	12,215	105	Built a chain of 18 pharmacies in five years through acquisitions
21	innocent	Fruit drinks maker	West London	2004	107.63%	16,676	45	Sells 100% fruit smoothies to Tesco, Starbucks and Boots
22	InsureandGo	Travel insurance provider	Essex	2004	106.33%	21,444	104	Claims to have insured 2m customers by July 2005
23	Advance Screeding	Floor screeding contractor	Kent	2004	105.74%	4,509	14	Supplies concrete floor screeding to M&S;, Berkeley Homes and the NHS
24	Easy Computers	Laptop and TV reseller	Huddersfield	2004	105.58%	8,672	16	Claims to sell 350 laptops a day from its four websites
25	Bfinance	Investment consultancy	Central London	2004	104.99%	3,354	35	Has headhunted 100 fund managers for clients such as Nationwide
26	Seasons In Style	Tour operator	Nr Chester	2004	104.33%	8,639	35	Says a typical client takes four holidays a year, costing up to £6,000 each [* Latest sales]
27	mhl support	Employment law consultancy	Staffordshire	2004	103.46%	4,529	87	Guarantees employment-law advice with a £1billion insurance policy
28	Africa Travel Resource	Safari travel agency	Surrey	2004	102.87%	3,453	12	Found camp in Serengeti run by Maasai warriors for safari customers
29	Inkjet Direct (Europe)	Office products supplier	Preston	2004	101.81%	7,863	49	Claims to be one of Britain’s biggest purchasers of inkjet photo paper
30	1927 London	Designer clothes distributor	SW London	2004	101.49%	6,130	20	Supplies 350 shops in Europe with designer labels, including Juicy Couture
31	Infohealth	Online pharmaceuticals distributor	South London	2004	101.44%	4,080	40	Acquired five retail pharmacies in three years
32	Huntswood	Customer services provider	Reading	2004	99.92%	36,299	149	Handles customer complaints for five of Britains top six banks
33	Four Counties Training	Training course provider	West London	2004	99.29%	3,685	45	Has accredited almost 7,000 railway workers for London Underground
34	Living Ventures	Restaurateur	Cheshire	2004	99.25%	19,548	684	Restaurant group has grown from two to 35 sites in four years
35	Esterform Packaging	Plastic bottle manufacturer	Worcestershire	2004	97.59%	14,251	107	Produces 1.3 billion plastic bottles a year for the beverage sector
36	EDS	Decommissioning contractor	Sheffield	2004	96.94%	26,138	119	Won a £7m contract to decommission two Shell refineries in Asia
37	Simon Wright Homes	Housebuilder	Maidstone	2004	95.80%	5,535	100	Employs 150 specialist building workers whose skills are in short supply
38	Salads To Go	Leaf salad producer	Lancashire	2004	93.74%	7,671	60	Makes pre-prepared salads for Co-op, Spirit Group and Nando’s
39	Ingenious	Investor and adviser	Central London	2004	91.44%	43,098	62	Managed the £100m sale of 19 Entertainment, makers of American Pop Idol
40	Stan James	Bookmaker	Oxfordshire	2004	91.37%	250,186	175	Changes in gambling law and advertising on Sky Sports pushed up sales [* Latest sales]
41	Woodford Group	Brownfield land developer	Lancashire	2004	90.84%	33,096	63	Claims to have cleaned up over 2,500 acres of contaminated land [† Latest sales]
42	AllClear Finance	Personal debt adviser	Cheshire	2004	90.71%	4,970	61	Has helped 275,000 customers rationalise personal debts
43	Unique Catering	Contract caterer	Warwickshire	2004	90.63%	5,380	230	Provides 2,500 meals a day for staff restaurants at Samworth Brothers
44	7city Learning	Training course provider	Central London	2004	90.20%	3,904	21	Provides financial training for Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan
45	Buffalo Pictures	TV and film producer	SW London	2004	89.44%	3,304	15	Made television programmes such as Men Down Under and Doc Martin
46	Jimmy Choo	Luxury accessories designer	Central London	2004	88.96%	27,812	57	Its shoes and bags are worn by celebrities such as Cameron Diaz
47	at your service	Social care provider	Nottingham	2004	88.68%	3,569	238	Provides personal care and support for 800 elderly or vulnerable people
48	Holden Pearmain	Market researcher	Surrey	2004	86.57%	4,579	32	Conducts customer satisfaction surveys for Virgin Atlantic
49	HIFX	Foreign exchange provider	Windsor	2004	86.25%	19,881	147	Offers foreign exchange-services to GB Airways and Royal Mail
50	PPF	Driver recruitment agency	Luton	2004	85.73%	15,102	450	Finds up to 900 drivers a week for Sainsbury's and DHL Express
51	Scomac	Building services engineer	Hampshire	2004	85.02%	3,885	12	Fitted electrics in schools from Tiffin in Kingston to Highgate in Haringey
52	Public Sector Consultants	Financial management consultancy	Chesterfield	2004	84.94%	5,830	49	Chief executive sold his consultancy to Vivendi before founding this firm
53	Streamfoods	Fruit snack producer	Cambridgeshire	2004	84.33%	5,472	70	Founders remortgaged homes in 1999 to raise start-up finance
54	Gordon Ramsay Holdings	Restaurateur	Central London	2004	84.26%	30,952	668	Ramsay at Claridge’s restaurant turned a £1.4m profit last year
55	Springfield Properties	Housebuilder	Moray	2004	83.41%	12,158	82	Built 150 new houses in Moray in Scotland last year
56	Morgan Brookes	Systems integrator	East London	2004	82.67%	8,760	33	Donates up to 10% of profits to charity each year
57	Nationwide Autocentres	MOT centre operator	Solihull	2004	80.80%	56,667	1,127	214 licensed MOT centres carried out 600,000 repairs last year
58	Portsmouth City Football Club	Football club	Portsmouth	2004	80.45%	39,813	281	Promotion to Premier League turns round fortunes of formerly ailing club
59	Worcester Carsales	Car dealer	Worcester	2004	78.90%	42,680	198	Sold 4,000 new and used cars last year from eight dealerships
60	Heating Plumbing Supplies	Plumbing equipment supplier	East Sussex	2004	78.78%	16,244	56	Increased number of branches from four to 15 in four years
61	Beams	Novelty gift maker	Kent	2004	78.62%	9,628	28	Makes gift-sets under licence for Glen Moray and Absolut Vodka
62	Rare Butchers of Distinction	Butcher	South London	2004	77.46%	3,977	22	Sells meat to smart London eateries such as the Wolseley and Cecconi's
63	Strategic Team Group	Building contractor	West Yorkshire	2004	76.12%	8,319	52	Won a £4.5m contract to assist in the £50m regeneration of Bradford
64	4D Interactive	Dating services provider	SW London	2004	72.92%	11,844	64	Handles 200m minutes of telephone dating chat a year
65	Teleticket Travel	Tour operator	Brighton	2004	72.39%	15,225	18	Carries 85,000 passengers a year to Malaga and Canary Islands
66	Hodgson Automotive	Car dealer	Chelmsford, Essex	2004	71.25%	60,272	138	Sold more than 2,000 new and used Audis last year
67	IN Partnership	Financial adviser accreditor	Horsham	2004	71.06%	18,338	45	Offers 450 financial advisers same-day payment of commissions
68	Connect Group Consulting	Recruitment agency	West London	2004	70.68%	4,620	14	Finds specialist IT staff for HSBC, Abbey, IBM and Fujitsu
69	Bank Fashion	Clothing retailer	Macclesfield	2004	69.64%	21,161	500	Increased stores from 3 to 30 in four years leading to £30m buyout in April
70	Churchill Retirement Living	Housebuilder	Hampshire	2004	68.64%	24,589	81	Builds one and two-bedroom retirement homes with careline alarms [* Latest sales]
71	LOMBOK	Furniture retailer	SW London	2004	68.03%	5,007	75	Imports own-design furniture from Indonesia, Vietnam and South Africa
72	Barchester Healthcare	Care home operator	Southwest London	2004	67.96%	130,429	6,850	Grown from 15 to 163 nursing homes in four years through acquisition
73	GreenCare Environmental	Hygiene services provider	Worcester	2004	67.35%	4,508	80	Services washrooms for JP Morgan and the London Stock Exchange
74	Carluccio’s	Restaurateur and retailer	Central London	2004	66.32%	27,828	652	Chain of 22 deli-restaurants feeds 65,000 diners each week
75	Stobbarts	Building contractor	Cumbria	2004	65.69%	9,834	272	Is responsible for repair and maintenance of the Sellafield nuclear plant
76	Bawdsey Haulage	Freight transporter	Felixstowe	2004	65.41%	3,191	20	Transports goods for WH Smith, Gillette and Tetley Tea
77	Global Fire Systems	Fire alarm consultancy	Nottingham	2004	64.80%	3,770	34	Serviced fire alarm systems at 4,000 sites in Britain last year
78	Greenergy	Fuel supplier	Central London	2004	64.19%	239,535	49	Claims that one in six car owners in southern England use its fuel
79	FBC Group	TV programme maker	Central London	2004	62.73%	16,453	100	Made Channel 4's series Fashion House sponsored by Nokia [* Latest sales]
80	Direct Trade	PVCu window maker	Doncaster	2004	62.69%	6,847	77	Doncaster factory makes more than 40,000 PVCu windows a year
81	Southall Travel	Travel agency and tour operator	West London	2004	62.64%	25,450	19	Claims to have sold 100,000 flights last year to British Asians and others
82	West Cornwall Pasty Co	Cornish pasty retailer	Cornwall	2004	62.52%	11,214	181	Mobile units sold 8,000 Cornish pasties to Ashes crowds at Lords
83	Levy Associates	Recruitment agency	St Albans	2004	62.47%	7,453	45	Claims to place more than 100 pharmaceutical and IT contractors a week
84	Naturally Best Packing	Potato wholesaler	Boston	2004	61.79%	20,758	124	90% of sales come from selling potatoes to Sainsbury’s
85	Clipper Logistics Group	Warehousing and distribution	Leeds	2004	61.11%	21,723	436	22 high-security warehouses store clothes for Next and John Lewis
86	Freedom Finance	Loan broker	Cheshire	2004	60.32%	36,628	425	Claims to have brokered more than £3bn in mortgages and loans last year
87	Source Claim Support	IT claims settler	Essex	2004	58.95%	28,461	82	Investigates 40,000 claims a year for insurers such as AXA and Zurich
88	Reactfast	Maintenance service provider	Birmingham	2004	58.60%	12,083	178	Claims to complete 2,400 emergency plumbing and heating jobs each week
89	Currencies Direct	Foreign exchange provider	Central London	2004	58.45%	700,526	53	Foreign-exchange provider started out with a £2,000 credit rating
90	Superbrands	Brand promotion publisher	Central London	2004	58.12%	4,423	13	Books feature brands from Smarties and Virgin to Microsoft and Pirelli
91	MLS Group	Business centre operator	SE London	2004	57.77%	16,518	103	Operates 59 serviced office centres across London and southeast England
92	Partners Group	Recruitment agency	Central London	2004	57.65%	21,553	55	Recruits technical staff for Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Norwich Union
93	LBM	Direct marketing agency	Cheshire	2004	57.52%	28,919	965	Handles 1m calls a month for clients such as O2 and Carphone Warehouse
94	Healthcare at Home	Home healthcare provider	Burton upon Trent	2004	57.46%	160,104	381	Provides specialist home-nursing to 30,000 patients at any one time
95	Iris Nation	Marketing agency	SE London	2004	57.20%	17,097	110	Designs campaigns for Sony Ericsson, Manchester United and Coca-Cola
96	PMI Field Marketing	Field marketing agency	Maidenhead	2004	56.93%	5,821	419	Helped to distribute the Lord of the Rings DVDs in Britain
97	Networkers International	Recruitment agency	South London	2004	56.17%	9,515	21	Provides telecom vendors with skilled technical staff in 40 countries
98	The REaD Group	Database marketing agency	Sevenoaks	2004	55.79%	5,615	30	Claims that 57% of direct mail in Britain is screened against its databases
99	Prohire	Vehicle services provider	Stoke on Trent	2004	55.51%	9,634	25	Won £27m contract to provide 300 vehicles for transporting prisoners
100	L&C	Mortgage broker	Bath	2004	54.49%	9,149	146	Claims to have brokered £2 billion worth of mortgages free for consumers

* Supplied by Company † Annualised figure

Data Source: www.fasttrack.co.uk

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