2009 - Fast Track 100 League Table

What is the Fast Track 100 – 2009?
The Fast Track 100 league table ranked Britain’s 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales in 2009 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 2009 Results

Rank	Company	Activity	Location	Year end	Annual sales rise over 3 years	Latest sales £000s	Staff	Comment
1	Cyclescheme	Bicycle scheme administrator	Bath	Feb 09	347.91%	22,748	27	New client Rolls-Royce bought £1.2m of bikes for employees in one month
2	Gio-Goi	Fashion wholesaler	Central London	Mar 09	219.92%	18,811	34	Brand featured in an MTV show with Pete Doherty modelling its clothes
3	Empiric Solutions	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Aug 09	202.15%	8,962	14	Has about 50 core investment and asset management clients, including ING and Fortis
4	Oxygen	Insurance broker	Central London	Dec 08	189.80%	17,021	177	Has arranged cancellation insurance for Madonna and U2 concerts
5	Eazyfone	Mobile phone recycler	Cheshire	Aug 09	176.69%	36,246	124	Says it recycles up to 200,000 phones a month through its Envirofone website {* Latest sales]
6	Mattressman	Mattress retailer	Norwich	Mar 08	173.60%	8,680	44	Says it stocks 5,000 bed frames and 3,000 mattresses at any given time
7	I-Paye	Payroll services provider	Merseyside	Mar 09	170.65%	67,401	42	Has 2,000 clients, many of whom are contractors working abroad
8	Paladin Group	Property services provider	Bath	Mar 09	170.25%	20,500	345	Is moving into student letting, with a contract signed to manage 1,000 student units
9	Ella’s Kitchen	Baby food producer	Henley	Jun 09	156.16%	8,260	10	Its 30 products include flavours such as butternut squash, apple and prune {† Latest sales]
10	Catering Academy	Contract caterer	Staffordshire	Dec 08	155.76%	14,305	593	Its clients include the Health Protection Agency, the University of Bolton and the YMCA
11	Genuine Solutions	Mobile accessories distributor	Surrey	Jan 09	153.52%	6,258	64	Supplies mobile-phone accessories to 800 independent retailers in 24 countries
12	Getting Personal	Online gift retailer	Cheshire	May 09	148.78%	6,282	29	Founders met at antenatal classes {* Latest sales]
13	Rize Recruitment	Telecoms recruitment consultancy	North London	Mar 09	144.85%	8,370	19	Says it has placed Colombian workers in Afghanistan, and Filipinos in Madagascar
14	Life Build Solutions	Building contractor	Buckinghamshire	Dec 08	139.65%	15,002	15	Recently completed a £2.5m project for Pinewood Studios opened by the Queen
15	Your Golf Travel.com	Golf travel retailer	Central London	Dec 08	139.35%	7,415	52	Its call-centre staff are mostly keen golfers who advise travellers on best golfing deals
16	Team24	Medical recruitment consultancy	Surrey	Apr 09	133.97%	13,401	52	Claims to place more than 1,000 doctors and nurses a week
17	Redrock Consulting	Recruitment consultancy	Bristol	Mar 08	131.41%	15,372	21	Clients include Orange, Motorola and Alcatel-Lucent {† Latest sales]
18	Alliance Surgical	Surgery group	Birmingham	Mar 09	131.22%	5,895	29	450 NHS consultants are shareholders in the business
19	State Oil	Fuel wholesaler	Weybridge	Feb 09	128.00%	147,199	14	Claims to be the fourth-largest independent oil importer in the UK
20	Low Cost Travel Group	Travel operator	West Sussex	Oct 08	127.03%	50,732	72	Has booked holidays for 1.2m people this year
21	Myprotein.co.uk	Sports nutrition supplier	Manchester	Sep 09	125.82%	9,764	50	Supplies sports nutrition to the current winner of Britain’s Strongest Man competition {* Latest sales]
22	Moonpig.com	Online greeting card retailer	Central London	Apr 09	125.60%	20,906	65	Says it will sell 10m personalised greeting cards this year
23	Miroma	Media barter company	Central London	Jun 09	118.22%	20,257	14	Launched an office in Singapore this year {* Latest sales]
24	E-Resourcing	IT recruitment consultancy	Epsom	Jun 09	115.01%	5,641	14	Customers include the NHS, Logica and Toyota {* Latest sales]
25	Next Ventures	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Dec 08	111.32%	8,292	25	75% of its sales are currently generated overseas
26	Interim Partners	Recruitment consultancy	Harrogate	Dec 08	110.53%	9,377	17	Launched a mid-market recruitment division in September
27	Kite Consulting Group	IT recruitment consultancy	Central London	Aug 09	110.19%	7,914	20	Clients include Balfour Beatty, Barclays and Aviva {* Latest sales]
28	Olive Catering	Contract caterer	Warwickshire	Dec 08	104.09%	9,225	368	Recently won contracts with Heinz and Capital One
29	Global Energy Group	Energy services provider	Inverness	Mar 08	103.00%	94,309	425	Has hired two Olympic biathlete skiers to lead staff development
30	Fine Green Associates	Recruitment consultancy	Manchester	Jun 09	102.94%	10,861	18	Supplies non-clinical management staff to the NHS and private healthcare organisations
31	ONEPOST	Postal management adviser	Bristol	Jun 09	100.62%	28,415	44	Its 230 clients include the National Trust and the British Red Cross {* Latest sales]
32	AM PM	Cash and carry wholesaler	Scunthorpe	Aug 08	99.52%	5,332	12	Cash and carry chain started in an old sewing-machine factory with £5,000 of stock {* Latest sales]
33	powerPerfector	Energy-saving device distributor	Central London	Dec 08	97.21%	11,557	27	Says its technology can save clients an average of 13% in electricity costs
34	Chesterfield Poultry	Halal poultry seller	Derbyshire	Jun 08	97.02%	17,487	86	Processes up to 120,000 halal chickens each week
35	Directline Holidays	Online travel operator	Croydon	Oct 08	96.22%	11,398	61	Has developed software that can tailor holidays to customers’ requirements
36	Silver Cross	Pram maker	Skipton	Dec 08	95.67%	17,484	41	Founded in 1877, now sells to retailers and direct to public on its own website
37	jjFOX	Recruitment consultancy	Bristol	Dec 08	94.87%	13,691	100	Company’s 2008 Christmas raffle raised £44,000 to start a charitable foundation {* Latest sales]
38	Asteral	Medical equipment provider	Reading	Mar 09	94.42%	14,277	43	Handles the supply and maintenance of scanners and x-ray machines to hospitals {* Latest sales]
39	NAC Group	Business consultancy	Sunderland	Jul 08	92.87%	7,598	40	Helps improve business efficiency at Imperial College Hospital and JCB
40	Danbro	Payroll services provider	Blackpool	Mar 09	91.63%	51,080	1,363	Client list includes 1,500 IT contractors and 1,100 limited companies {* Latest sales]
41	Hobson Prior	Recruitment consultancy	Tunbridge Wells	Jul 08	91.04%	10,267	20	Has recently formed strategic partnerships with companies in Switzerland and Germany
42	ea Consulting Group	Business management consultancy	Twickenham	Mar 09	88.99%	25,111	32	Founded to manage change arising from the introduction of the euro
43	MFG	Fuel forecourt operator	St Albans	Aug 08	87.73%	121,905	237	Has acquired more than 20 petrol stations in the past three years
44	Boost Drinks	Energy drink maker	Leeds	Oct 08	87.54%	9,654	12	Became the official energy drink for Glastonbury this year
45	Stores Direct	Heating products retailer	Huddersfield	Apr 09	86.58%	8,224	15	Sells about 500 stoves and fireplaces each month from its websites
46	Higgidy	Pie maker	West Sussex	Sep 09	85.68%	5,586	106	Sells its British quiches to a café in France {* Latest sales]
47	FjordDigital design consultancy	FjordDigital design consultancy	Central London	Dec 08	82.36%	6,641	88	Has offices in London, Berlin, Helsinki and New York {* Latest sales]
48	Joseph Joseph	Household goods manufacturer	Central London	May 09	82.11%	6,477	21	Sells 250 product lines through stores including John Lewis and House of Fraser {* Latest sales]
49	SFC (Wholesale)	Fried chicken wholesaler	Merseyside	Mar 09	80.81%	12,511	12	Claims to sell more than 400 tonnes of frozen chicken products each month
50	Dimark	Ethnic food distributor	North London	Dec 08	80.60%	5,077	15	Is one of Britain’s largest importers of Polish and eastern European food {* Latest sales]
51	Easi-Drive Accident Management	Accident services provider	Manchester	Mar 08	80.59%	12,857	96	Says its customers drive 1m miles a year in the replacement vehicles it provides {† Latest sales]
52	Practicus	Management consultancy	Henley	Dec 08	79.17%	33,274	49	Opened offices in Amsterdam and Australia earlier this year
53	World First	International payments provider	Central London	Jan 09	78.86%	5,579	54	Its most popular currencies traded are euros and dollars
54	Global Resourcing	IT recruitment consultancy	Bromley	Dec 08	77.89%	14,782	38	Operates globally, including in America, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kazakhstan
55	The Book Depository	Online book retailer	Gloucester	Jun 09	77.79%	61,421	39	Founder was part of the team that launched Amazon in Britain
56	Oliver James Associates	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Dec 08	77.57%	6,986	24	Places about 20 candidates each month with blue-chip insurance firms
57	Amber Taverns	Pub operator	Preston	Jan 09	76.74%	7,019	10	Purchased 23 pubs from the administrators in April, saving about 100 jobs
58	Allen Lane	Public sector recruitment consultancy	Central London	May 09	76.43%	23,644	19	Clients include Ofsted and the London Business School {* Latest sales]
59	Liv-ex	Fine wine exchange	Southwest London	Dec 08	75.70%	27,145	21	Produces an index ranking the world’s top 100 wines for investment
60	People Source Consulting	IT recruitment consultancy	Bristol	Mar 09	74.27%	6,480	22	Claims to have clients in every industry sector
61	Toppesfield	Specialist surfacing contractor	Ipswich	May 08	74.23%	10,549	33	Recently completed a £1m resurfacing project on behalf of Transport for London
62	Richmond Group	Financial services provider	Bournemouth	Mar 09	71.96%	36,301	372	Staff, customers and company raised £150,000 for local charities {* Latest sales]
63	Universal Recycling	Metal waste recycler	South Yorkshire	Oct 08	71.48%	47,637	72	A renewable fuel power plant now provides a third of all its electricity requirements
64	BLU 3 (UK)	Infrastructure services provider	Croydon	Mar 08	70.87%	14,283	77	Clients include Tesco, Transport for London and EDF Energy
65	Opti-cal Survey Equipment	Survey equipment supplier	Reading	Aug 09	70.35%	5,039	17	Supplies equipment to projects including the London 2012 Olympics and Crossrail {* Latest sales]
66	Mayday Healthcare	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Sep 08	70.14%	29,710	55	Claims its offices have not closed in five and a half years
67	Zaha Hadid	Architect	Central London	Apr 08	67.43%	26,231	241	Designs include the Z.Car, a hydrogen-powered, three-wheeled automobile
68	Igloo Books	Book publisher	Northampton	Mar 08	67.36%	7,728	32	Publishes about 250 titles each year, from baby nutrition guides to gardening books
69	Lifetime	Training provider	Bristol	Mar 09	66.40%	9,793	157	Founder worked as a teacher and aerobics instructor before setting up the business {* Latest sales]
70	Acteon	Subsea services provider	Norwich	Dec 08	66.37%	309,154	1,595	Group comprises 15 companies with services including oilwell decommissioning
71	PMSS	Renewable energy consultancy	Romsey	Mar 09	65.97%	5,963	65	Claims to have provided expertise to more than 1,000 renewable-energy projects {* Latest sales]
72	McKinney Rogers	Business performance consultancy	Central London	Apr 09	65.10%	11,042	59	Stint in the Royal Marines led founder to adapt military principles to the business {* Latest sales]
73	Harkand Group	Harkand Group	Aberdeen	Sep 08	64.67%	87,626	472	Recently opened offices in Singapore and Australia
74	Investigo	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Jun 09	64.51%	28,840	59	Acts as primary supplier of finance staff to Alliance Boots, Coca-Cola and Lloyds
75	Timothy James Consulting	Recruitment consultancy	Bristol	Oct 08	63.63%	5,428	30	Candidates placed typically earn salaries of between £80,000 and £100,000 {* Latest sales]
76	Henleys Clothing	Fashion retailer	Manchester	Mar 09	63.45%	37,952	191	Says it is one of Shop Direct’s top selling brands {* Latest sales]
77	Holiday Taxis	Airport transfer provider	West Sussex	Dec 08	63.41%	12,238	48	Founder set up company after Thomas Cook made him redundant
78	MSS Group	Facilities management consultancy	Cardiff	Mar 09	62.52%	7,367	287	Its clients include Superdrug, Rockwool and Scottish Power
79	Sprue Aegis	Safety products manufacturer	Coventry	Dec 08	61.86%	9,368	22	Says it supplies 85% of British fire authorities with its smoke alarms
80	Bond Aviation Group	Helicopter operator	Cheltenham	Mar 08	61.74%	62,656	299	Flies crews to and from drilling platforms in the North Sea
81	PJ Care	Care home operator	Milton Keynes	Mar 08	60.25%	5,002	155	Recently acquired a training company to enable it to train its own staff
82	Go Ape	Adventure course operator	Suffolk	Dec 08	60.19%	8,479	198	Says that nearly 2m customers have completed a course
83	Fast & Fresh Restaurants	Subway sandwich franchiser	Preston	Jun 08	59.84%	10,643	388	Recent openings include restaurants at Liverpool airport
84	Character World	Licensed textile manufacturer	Cheshire	Dec 08	59.65%	20,813	47	Recently launched a Spiderman duvet set
85	AdConnection	Media agency	Wimbledon	Mar 09	59.56%	14,633	18	New clients include Grosvenor Casinos and Trinidad and Tobago’s tourist board {* Latest sales]
86	Cath Kidston	Lifestyle retailer	West London	Mar 09	59.46%	31,294	275	Recently published a book of sewing projects designed for use with its fabric patterns
87	Applied Language Solutions	Translation services provider	Manchester	May 09	59.16%	6,257	102	Claims to have a network of more than 16,000 linguists around the world {* Latest sales]
88	Balhousie Care Group	Care home operator	Forfar	Apr 09	59.02%	12,734	530	Founder appeared on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire this year {* Latest sales]
89	Maria Mallaband Care Group	Care home operator	Leeds	Apr 08	58.85%	31,834	1,303	Supplies 1,200 beds in 54 care homes, including one in Jersey
90	Voice Mobile	Mobile phone reseller	Birmingham	Dec 08	58.66%	7,120	21	Says it supplies mobile phones to one in every four British police officers
91	Manpower Direct	Security services provider	Essex	Jun 08	58.00%	7,399	240	Started in a converted warehouse by a group of engineering graduates
92	NET-A-PORTER.com	Online fashion retailer	Central London	Jan 09	56.54%	81,546	376	Has raised more than £10m in funding since 2000
93	Denticare	Dental practice operator	Bedford	Mar 08	56.47%	5,125	55	Provides financial assistance to help continental dentists relocate to Britain
94	Eurospan	Book distributor	Central London	Dec 08	56.09%	5,472	27	Distributes books from publishers such as the World Bank and Stanford University Press
95	Paul	Bakery and patisserie	Central London	Dec 08	55.71%	18,901	413	Claims it sold more than 300,000 croissants and 70,000 strawberry tartlettes last year
96	Hotel Chocolat Stores	Chocolate retailer	Hertfordshire	Jun 09	55.16%	21,788	287	Recently opened two stores in America, and will have franchises in Dubai and Kuwait {* Latest sales]
97	B&M Retail	Discount retailer	Liverpool	Dec 08	54.60%	255,922	3,119	Claims that more than 1.5m shoppers enter its stores each week
98	CMC Partnership	Business management consultancy	Monmouthshire	Jan 09	53.30%	13,262	50	Clients include the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Office and the Welsh Assembly
99	Outsource UK	Recruitment consultancy	Swindon	May 09	53.29%	18,234	21	Company was founded in the managing director’s spare bedroom
100	David Phillips Furniture	Furniture retailer	Central London	Mar 08	52.92%	12,273	73	Furnished more than 100 apartments in Cyprus this year {* Latest sales]

* Supplied by Company † Annualised figure

Data Source: www.fasttrack.co.uk

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