2007 - Fast Track 100 League Table

What is the Fast Track 100 – 2007?
The Fast Track 100 league table ranked Britain’s 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales in 2007 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 2007 Results

Rank	Company	Activity	Location	Year end	Annual sales rise over 3 years	Latest sales £000s	Staff	Comment
1	Travel Republic	Travel agency	SW London	2007	284.23%	14,640	74	Claims to book holidays for more than one million passengers a year
2	Oceanteam 2000	Offshore services provider	Great Yarmouth	2006	206.45%	20,147	78	Inspects offshore gas installations for the oil and gas industries
3	Police Recruit	Police recruitment agency	SE London	2006	183.39%	13,034	31	Acquired by the security firm G4S in October
4	AJ Power	Diesel generator manufacturer	Northern Ireland	2007	180.83%	10,750	46	Irish Embassy in Tanzania relies on its generators during power cuts
5	Inside Ideas Group	Marketing services provider	Central London	2007	178.49%	6,085	30	Counts Britvic and Axa Insurance among its clients
6	Simply Biz	Support services provider	Huddersfield	2006	175.34%	7,483	57	Founded by the chairman of Huddersfield’s football and rugby clubs
7	Flat TV Company	Electrical 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 Packing	Packer and distributor	Doncaster	2006	160.52%	21,413	100	Has won new contracts with independent builders’ merchants
9	Head Resourcing	Recruitment agency	Edinburgh	2006	159.84%	7,812	29	Founders sold two previous recruitment companies for £12.5m
10	Investigo	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	2007	159.80%	11,505	31	Investigo is Latin for ‘to search for’ or ‘to track down’
11	Probuild Birmingham	Shopfitting contractor	Birmingham	2007	150.71%	5,159	65	Fits out up to 100 supermarkets each year, including Co-op and Tesco stores
12	Silver Cross	Pram maker	Skipton	2007	148.28%	10,646	26	Sells £900 baby carriages handmade to the same design as the 1877 original
13	Custom TV	Digital TV installer	Croydon	2006	147.63%	10,428	150	Is targeting Spain, France and the Far East for expansion
14	Contractor Umbrella	Payroll services provider	Colchester	2006	147.00%	32,213	10	Is planning expansion into the contracting market for teachers and oil-rig workers
15	Melrob Group	Chemicals distributor	West Sussex	2006	144.46%	8,698	13	Recently expanded into Japan and the Benelux countries
16	Harkand Group	Offshore services provider	Aberdeen	2006	141.37%	34,754	42	Reportedly signed a contract in July worth £240m over six years
17	Ice Energy Heat Pumps	Renewable energy supplier	Oxfordshire	2007	140.80%	5,025	40	Sells green heat pumps to the Duchy of Cornwall and the National Trust [* Latest sales]
18	Paladin Group	Property services provider	Bath	2007	131.44%	11,469	182	Acquired three businesses for £8.5m last year
19	ECU Group	Currency manager	Central London	2006	130.16%	7,127	32	Manages multi-currency mortgages in yen, euro, Canadian and American dollars
20	Alpharooms	Hotel booking agency	Sheffield	2006	121.23%	5,522	57	Claims to process more than 150,000 hotel room bookings a year
21	Henry Howard Finance	Business finance provider	Newport	2006	120.66%	18,761	13	Says it processes 300 business loans a month
22	Mint Financial Services	Financial advisers' network	Chesterfield	2006	119.05%	13,088	28	Aims to run a paperless office, one that is entirely IT based
23	Frazer & Tabberer	Steel pipes manufacturer	Birmingham	2007	118.18%	11,258	10	Claims its products save the water industry £1.7m a year
24	Health Management	Occupational health adviser	East Sussex	2006	117.29%	5,726	108	Says it looks after 300,000 employees, offering advice on health and fitness
25	CSG	Business 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 Steels	Steel 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 Elt	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	2007	101.74%	9,750	14	Has benefited from the boom in the City, providing IT specialists
29	Richmond Group	Financial services provider	Bournemouth	2006	101.68%	7,139	121	Unable to afford advertising, founder walked 300km delivering 30,000 leaflets
30	Danbro	Payroll services provider	Blackpool	2007	101.35%	15,169	30	Husband-and-wife team started the business with redundancy pay [* Latest sales]
31	Enterprise Broker Services	Mortgage and loan distributor	North London	2006	101.04%	7,487	72	Promethean Investment bought a 30% stake for £8.5m in April
32	PIPC	Management consultancy	Central London	2007	100.88%	19,036	266	Recently set up operations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
33	Lucy Wernick & Associates	Clothing wholesaler	Central London	2007	99.30%	9,556	10	Ships American fashion brands to the likes of Harrods and Harvey Nichols
34	Premium Appliance Brands	Kitchen appliance supplier	Cheshire	2006	98.47%	20,600	25	Newly-acquired celebrity-endorsed brands include Oz Clarke
35	Staffgroup	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	2007	97.47%	8,593	31	Co-founder worked at 1998’s No 1 Fast Track 100 company, Progressive Computer
36	Widget	Electronic goods distributor	Stevenage	2007	95.23%	27,024	16	Hopes its new pocket web surfer will be a Christmas ‘must-have’
37	Dolphin Music	Musical equipment retailer	Liverpool	2007	93.38%	9,295	54	Plans to open shops all over Britain and on the Continent
38	Elliott Thomas	Specialist construction contractor	Surrey	2006	93.28%	17,694	183	Helped refurbishment operations after the Buncefield fuel depot explosion
39	Maximus	Recruitment agency	Central London	2006	92.48%	5,146	10	Founder’s charity Giving Back ploughs profits into projects in his homeland India
40	innocent	Fruit 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 Marsden	Recruitment 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 Drinks	Fruit drinks maker	Central London	2006	91.41%	5,923	16	Sells 2m bottles of Feel Good Drinks every month [* Latest sales]
43	HQUK	Beauty 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 Lamps	Projector lamp supplier	Berkshire	2007	89.01%	10,913	25	Says it sells lamps for all types of data projectors
45	Drivers Direct	Recruitment agency	Warwickshire	2006	88.23%	5,897	28	Four colleagues formerly at a recruitment agency set up their own business
46	Oriel Securities	Stockbroker	Central London	2006	87.97%	18,808	76	Offers stock-market brokerage services to the likes of Standard Life
47	RIF Worldwide	Logistics services provider	West London	2006	87.72%	6,719	28	Company raised £200,000 start-up funds from Hong Kong investor
48	Compello Staffing Group	Recruitment consultancy	Glasgow	2006	87.26%	35,305	96	Acquired an oil and gas consultancy for £4m to expand in the sector
49	Gü Chocolate Puds	Premium pudding maker	West London	2007	87.20%	11,335	20	Gü chocolate puddings are sold in 3,000 British and 500 French supermarkets [* Latest sales]
50	Morgan Hunt	Recruitment agency	Central London	2007	85.49%	54,963	112	Is beefing up its regional presence with new offices in Leeds and Newcastle [* Latest sales]
51	WFCA	Marketing agency	Kent	2006	85.49%	16,645	47	Based in Tunbridge Wells, bills itself as “a London agency, not in London”
52	Creativevents	Catering services provider	Central London	2006	84.97%	7,626	140	Provides catering at sporting events such as Royal Ascot [† Latest sales]
53	LNT Group	Care 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 Properties	Housebuilder	Moray	2006	82.84%	28,817	195	Working on a £12m commercial development project in Elgin in Scotland
55	Fuel Recruitment	Recruitment agency	Leamington Spa	2007	82.52%	5,529	17	Expansion into the broadcast and construction sectors fuelled growth
56	33six Consultancy	Recruitment agency	Central London	2006	82.13%	6,067	14	Founder previously ran and sold two other businesses
57	Pagazzi Lighting	Lighting reseller	Glasgow	2006	81.32%	5,629	71	Claims to have increased its number of customers tenfold since 2003
58	Maxxima	Recruitment agency	Essex	2006	80.90%	10,513	185	Provides health and social-care staff to public and private sectors
59	Towergate Insurance	Insurance 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 Group	Civil engineering contractor	West Lothian	2006	77.27%	36,216	430	Specialises in building reinforced concrete structures
61	Playforce	Playground 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 Learning	Training course provider	Central London	2006	76.67%	11,239	68	Teaches financial courses for Barclays and Deutsche Bank
63	Barchester Healthcare	Care home operator	Southwest London	2006	76.48%	327,900	12,562	Provides nursing and care services at 170 retirement homes nationwide
64	Easy Computers	Laptop and TV reseller	Huddersfield	2007	76.29%	47,512	47	Evolved from a failing business that the founder bought for £3,000 in 1999 [* Latest sales]
65	Maria Mallaband Care Group	Care home operator	Leeds	2006	76.05%	17,685	879	Founder named company after his great-grandmother who was a nurse
66	Dawnus Construction	Civil engineering contractor	Swansea	2006	75.89%	43,214	170	Set up by six former directors of the construction company Taylor Woodrow
67	Global Resourcing	IT recruitment consultancy	Bromley	2006	75.88%	8,052	26	Founder started the business by remortgaging his house [† Latest sales]
68	Abel & Cole	Organic produce retailer	Wimbledon	2006	74.83%	19,818	219	Sold a stake to Phoenix Equity Partners in October
69	Card Factory	Greeting card retailer	Wakefield	2006	74.38%	72,122	1,847	Founders began by selling greetings cards from the back of a van
70	AO.com	Household appliance supplier	Bolton	2007	73.10%	52,846	117	Claims to sell 6,000 large domestic appliances online a week
71	Vision Call	Mobile eyecare provider	Glasgow	2007	72.46%	7,563	138	Brings mobile eye and hearing tests to the elderly and housebound [* Latest sales]
72	Power On Connections	Electricity connection provider	Leicester	2007	71.93%	11,120	50	Five co-founders used savings to set up electricity connections business
73	Henleys Clothing	Fashion retailer	Manchester	2007	71.81%	14,123	40	Its first retail outlet reached sales of £1.6m in its first year [* Latest sales]
74	AdConnection	Media agency	Wimbledon	2007	71.66%	7,004	14	Offers media planning and buying advice to online retailer CD Wow
75	Oval	Insurance broker	Wakefield	2007	70.63%	60,012	844	Acquired more than 20 companies in less than four years
76	Really Useful Products	Storage box supplier	West Yorkshire	2007	69.72%	12,713	39	Sells patented archive storage boxes for DVDs, folders and files
77	northerncare	Care home operator	Blackpool	2006	68.25%	13,427	422	Plans to open another 10 residential homes for children next year
78	McLaren Construction	Builder	Essex	2006	67.66%	71,008	88	Is constructing a £28m development project in Nottingham for British Land
79	David Ormerod Hearing Centres	Hearing aid supplier	North Wales	2006	67.65%	20,338	203	Swiss hearing-aid manufacturer Phonak recently acquired a 49% stake
80	MSI Group	Recruitment 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 Commerce	SAP recruitment agency	Central London	2007	66.80%	32,190	85	Recruits SAP experts across Europe for Philips, Sony and IBM
82	Astus UK	Corporate bartering specialist	Central London	2007	65.67%	22,284	10	Daimler Chrysler and Vodafone use its corporate bartering services
83	Pharmalink Consulting	Regulatory affairs consultancy	Maidenhead	2006	64.87%	6,651	50	Claims to provide consultancy to 9 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies
84	Tyrrells Potato Crisps	Crisps and snacks producer	Herefordshire	2007	64.74%	8,523	59	Is launching an upmarket vodka to use up spare potatoes
85	Meade-King Robinson & Co	Chemicals supplier	Liverpool	2007	63.81%	29,781	20	Formed 140 years ago as an importer of whale oil, molasses and kerosene
86	Clipper Logistics Group	Warehousing 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 Logistics	Logistics services provider	Slough	2007	63.31%	17,281	57	Transports M&S; and TK Maxx products from Asian factories to the high street
88	Acteon	Subsea services provider	Norwich	2006	63.04%	121,507	566	Has acquired four companies in the past 12 months
89	Personal Touch Financial Services	Financial services provider	West Midlands	2006	62.80%	76,696	171	LDC bought a minority stake in a £50m deal last September
90	Graig Shipping Group	Ship manager and owner	Cardiff	2006	62.32%	23,098	90	Claims to have commissioned the largest ship ever built in Vietnam
91	Knightsbridge Guarding	Security services provider	Central London	2006	62.01%	24,602	785	Provides security services to the London Stock Exchange
92	Riverford Organic Vegetables	Organic produce retailer	Devon	2007	61.95%	23,120	243	Founder started the business with just a wheelbarrow and tractor
93	SEH	Civil engineering contractor	Ipswich	2006	61.20%	129,454	602	Joined forces with Atkins to bid for highway management contracts
94	Specialist Hire Group	Industrial vehicle provider	Leicestershire	2006	60.84%	20,991	258	Co-founder helped build Lex Harvey forklift trucks into a £220m business
95	Healthcare at Home	Home healthcare provider	Burton upon Trent	2006	60.46%	346,660	664	Investor Apax sold to management and Hutton Collins in a reported £230m deal [† Latest sales]
96	No 1 Currency	Foreign exchange specialist	Edinburgh	2006	59.65%	183,457	16	Has a network of 221 franchised bureaux de change outlets across Britain
97	Morgan Law Recruitment	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	2006	59.59%	11,364	23	Provides recruitment services for the Church of England
98	Wind Prospect	Wind energy developer	Sussex	2006	59.35%	5,560	67	Is responsible for developing and constructing more than 75 wind farms worldwide
99	Liv-ex	Fine wine exchange	Southwest London	2006	59.32%	10,639	12	Produces an index ranking the world’s top 100 wines for investment
100	GGR-UNIC	Lifting solutions provider	Oldham	2006	59.14%	7,911	27	Formula Ford champion set up the company with racing winnings

* Supplied by Company † Annualised figure

Data Source: www.fasttrack.co.uk

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