2010 - Fast Track 100 League Table

What is the Fast Track 100 – 2010?
The Fast Track 100 league table ranked Britain’s 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales in 2010 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 2010 Results

Rank	Company	Activity	Location	Year end	Annual sales rise over 3 years	Latest sales £000s	Staff	Comment
1	Buymobilephones.net	Online phone retailer	Derbyshire	Mar 09	340.15%	24,538	28	Presented a Mini Cooper to its millionth customer
2	Subocean Group	Subsea construction provider	Aberdeen	Nov 09	237.14%	65,142	211	Lays sub-sea power-transmission cables for off-shore wind farms [† Latest sales]
3	VADition	Hardware / software distributor	Hampshire	May 10	195.77%	23,446	35	Founders previously set up and sold two IT businesses
4	Actegy Health	Home healthcare devices	Ascot	Jun 10	193.81%	17,024	12	Founders replicated the family’s business in Australia and later acquired it [* Latest sales]
5	Planet Cruise	Cruise and tour holidays operator	Hampshire	Aug 09	181.97%	13,519	26	Launched a holiday TV show on the Ideal World Home Shopping network
6	Your Golf Travel.com	Golf travel retailer	Central London	Dec 09	158.06%	16,420	41	Co-founders started golf tournament to support Help for Heroes
7	Pathology Group	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Sep 10	151.89%	27,986	27	Claims to have provided doctors to more than 100 NHS hospitals [* Latest sales]
8	Staysure.co.uk	Over-fifties insurance provider	Northampton	Dec 09	151.17%	9,757	70	Aims to recruit another 150 people over the next year
9	State Oil	Fuel wholesaler	Weybridge	Feb 10	144.08%	261,613	76	Says it is the fourth-largest independent fuel importer in Britain
10	powerPerfector	Energy-saving device distributor	Central London	Dec 09	140.01%	29,788	67	Claims it has saved clients £57m in energy bills over six years
11	ADEY Heating Solutions	Heating filter manufacturer	Cheltenham	Mar 10	138.66%	20,524	20	Founders developed heating-filter prototype in their garden shed
12	Badger Office Supplies	Office products supplier	Lancashire	May 10	133.34%	7,423	65	Supplies re-manufactured printer cartridges to hundreds of retailers
13	Global Personals	Online dating service provider	Windsor	Aug 09	133.18%	11,800	76	Co-founder met his wife through one of the company’s online dating sites
14	Ella’s Kitchen	Baby food producer	Henley	Jun 10	129.22%	16,465	15	Company is named after its founder’s daughter [* Latest sales]
15	Team24	Medical recruitment consultancy	Surrey	Apr 10	125.54%	30,291	55	Recently launched a service to check staff compliance before and after employment
16	SDK Jewellers	Online watch retailer	Reading	Feb 10	122.93%	6,359	20	Operates WatchShop.com, which, it says, stocks 6,000 different watches [† Latest sales]
17	Moonpig.com	Online greeting card retailer	Central London	Apr 10	115.51%	31,285	73	Sent out 8m greeting cards and thousands of flower bouquets in the past year
18	Directline Holidays	Online travel operator	Croydon	Oct 09	113.50%	23,574	65	Sales continued to rise despite the economic downturn and volcanic-ash disruption
19	Green Park Interim and Executive	Recruitment consultancy	London	Jul 10	112.62%	21,634	36	Plants one tree in collaboration with the Woodland Trust for every placement made
20	Liz Hobbs Group	Events producer	Nottingham	Dec 09	108.13%	6,365	12	Company’s owner, Liz Hobbs, is a former British and world champion water skier
21	BullionVault.com	Gold dealer	West London	Oct 09	105.87%	277,068	13	Won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2009
22	SFC (Wholesale)	Fried chicken wholesaler	Merseyside	Mar 10	104.86%	20,848	13	Recently expanded its range of chicken products to include party boxes [* Latest sales]
23	TorFX	Foreign exchange provider	Cornwall	Sep 09	103.01%	361,849	51	Exchanges sums from £5,000 to more than £5m
24	UK Flooring Direct	Online flooring retailer	Warwickshire	Mar 10	101.06%	5,972	21	Sells sustainably sourced wood floors and eco-friendly bamboo and cork flooring
25	Miroma	Media barter company	Central London	Jun 10	95.55%	32,560	18	Enables clients to trade inventory for advertising space [* Latest sales]
26	Ramsdens	Pawnbroker and jeweller	Middlesbrough	Dec 09	94.42%	27,030	190	Has grown from 19 to 72 stores in only two years
27	International Applications	Industrial & consumer goods distributor	Oxfordshire	Mar 10	91.15%	9,372	12	Founder started his working life as a car-panel beater
28	LNT Group	Care home developer	Leeds	Mar 09	90.93%	54,295	228	The company’s first care home was the house of the founder’s parents
29	Fjord	Digital design consultancy	Central London	Dec 09	89.50%	11,860	80	Has gained 20 new clients in the past year
30	ONEPOST	Postal management adviser	Bristol	Jun 10	89.22%	47,418	51	Recently invested £300,000 in a sorting machine to extend its services [* Latest sales]
31	Ship Shape Resources	Construction services provider	Central London	May 09	89.21%	10,703	33	Eight directors worked a year without pay, and five years on reduced pay to build firm
32	MPM products	Pet food producer	Cheshire	Dec 09	87.47%	5,283	17	Makes high-end pet food exported to 29 countries
33	Lifetime	Training provider	Bristol	Mar 10	84.67%	16,815	178	More than 12,000 delegates were trained by this company in 2009 [* Latest sales]
34	Oak Furniture Land	Furniture retailer	Swindon	Sep 09	84.61%	17,081	79	Sources its wood from eastern Europe, India and Indonesia
35	Natural Products	Gift maker	West London	May 10	83.51%	12,662	33	American subsidiary doubled turnover in 2009 to £4.1m [* Latest sales]
36	Alliance Surgical	Surgery group	Birmingham	Mar 10	82.75%	8,088	40	This organisation of consultant surgeons is owned and run by its members
37	Jack Wills	Fashion retailer	Northwest London	Jan 10	80.98%	64,764	1,286	Runs an apprenticeship scheme with a British mill to support British manufacturing
38	Mayday Healthcare	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Sep 09	80.69%	56,178	87	Consultants are available around the clock to meet the staffing needs of clients
39	Intamarque	Food and toiletries distributor	Cheltenham	May 10	80.47%	23,594	10	Doubled its client base to nearly 300 retailers and wholesalers in the past 12 months
40	LOC Consulting	Management consultancy	Central London	Mar 10	77.05%	10,016	12	All of its consultants work on-site with clients such as Elsevier
41	Nexus Vehicle Rental	Vehicle rental broker	Leeds	Sep 09	76.96%	19,385	31	Arranges rental of more than 250,000 cars and vans for 300 businesses annually
42	Next Ventures	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Dec 09	76.72%	8,312	37	Rewards good employee performance with weekend trips away
43	Higgidy	Pie maker	West Sussex	Sep 10	76.60%	8,107	125	More than 100 kitchen staff handmake around 100,000 pies and quiches each week [* Latest sales]
44	Joseph Joseph	Household goods manufacturer	Central London	May 10	76.42%	12,255	30	A dress made entirely of its plastic chopping boards was modelled at a fashion show [* Latest sales]
45	B&M Retail	Discount retailer	Liverpool	Dec 09	76.20%	426,657	4,831	Some 1.5m shoppers bargain-hunt among up to 200 new lines introduced each week
46	Markit	Financial information services	City of London	Dec 09	75.67%	305,392	1,389	General Atlantic paid a reported $250m for a 7.5% stake in the company in January
47	Black Tomato	Luxury travel agency	Greater London	Dec 09	75.49%	6,790	25	Organises bespoke travel to more than 100 countries around the world
48	Box Limited	Online IT reseller	Birmingham	Oct 09	74.63%	17,947	32	Recently moved into a new £1.1m warehouse facility in Sutton Coldfield
49	Knowledge To Action	Trader coaching programme provider	London	Dec 09	72.81%	9,497	105	Firm’s 35-year-old founder quit his job to set up an eight-screen trading floor at home
50	Rapha	Cycling apparel maker and retailer	North London	Oct 10	72.18%	6,960	35	Collaborated with designer Paul Smith for its new city bike riding range [* Latest sales]
51	Getting Personal	Online gift retailer	Cheshire	May 10	71.97%	9,470	47	Personalises chocolate bars by printing the recipient’s name on the wrapper [* Latest sales]
52	Grand Union	Venue and bar operator	Central London	Mar 10	71.86%	5,883	192	Founder previously worked as a chef in a restaurant with three Michelin stars [* Latest sales]
53	Global Energy Group	Energy services provider	Inverness	Mar 09	71.43%	119,028	772	The founder is chairman and benefactor of Ross County Football Club
54	AllSaints	Fashion retailer	Central London	Jan 10	71.35%	132,854	1,961	Uses 10,000 sewing machines as displays in its shop windows
55	Marlin Financial Group	Debt purchaser	West Sussex	Dec 09	70.97%	11,542	68	This year bought £250m of debt from British banks to recover it
56	4th Dimension Innovation	Motorcycle claims handler	Egham	Mar 09	70.82%	5,279	85	Handled 30,000 motorcycle claims for insurers in 2009
57	AV Promotions	Incentive scheme supplier	Aylesbury	Aug 10	68.15%	18,392	13	Supplied one iPod every five minutes in the year to August 2010 [* Latest sales]
58	Nicoll Curtin Technology	IT recruitment agency	London	Jun 09	68.02%	14,500	54	Says it has 150,000 candidates on its database
59	Wilton Group	Offshore services provider	Middlesbrough	Jun 10	67.41%	37,637	405	Contracts range from £500 painting jobs to providing equipment worth £10.5m [* Latest sales]
60	Post-Switch	Postal services consultancy	Central London	Aug 10	65.38%	7,602	11	Responsible for the Conservative party’s campaign mail in the 2010 election [* Latest sales]
61	Timothy James Consulting	Recruitment consultancy	Bristol	Oct 09	64.23%	9,992	32	Had to find new London offices three months after opening due to rapid growth
62	Lois Jewellery	Jewellery wholesaler & bullion dealer	Birmingham	Mar 09	63.81%	43,195	10	Bought the 1904 car registration plate AU1, the chemical symbol for gold
63	Amber Taverns	Pub operator	Preston	Jan 10	63.06%	13,926	17	Aims to double its portfolio of pubs to 110 by 2014
64	Empiric Solutions	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Aug 10	62.77%	11,494	19	Counts as clients 50 investors and asset managers, including ING and Fortis [* Latest sales]
65	World First	International payments provider	Central London	Jan 10	62.75%	8,281	67	Says it donates up to £50 to charity for every customer who completes its survey
66	Quidco	Cash-back website operator	Central London	Jul 10	62.60%	32,078	34	Recently bought by former chief executive of FriendsReunited.com [* Latest sales]
67	McKinney Rogers	Business performance consultancy	Central London	Apr 10	62.04%	12,613	60	Is developing a college modelled on Sandhurst for business leaders [* Latest sales]
68	Sprue Aegis	Safety products manufacturer	Coventry	Dec 09	61.88%	14,356	29	Supplies smoke detectors to 50 fire brigades across the country
69	Cath Kidston	Lifestyle retailer	West London	Mar 10	59.62%	50,369	383	Says it uses enough fabric each year to wrap the M25 twenty times [* Latest sales]
70	Danbro	Payroll services provider	Blackpool	Mar 10	58.69%	60,655	1,488	For its first two years the business was run from the founder’s spare room [* Latest sales]
71	TXO Systems	Telecoms infrastructure reseller	Windsor	Jun 10	56.59%	6,760	22	Claims that all the members of its sales team are multilingual [* Latest sales]
72	Richmond Group	Financial services provider	Bournemouth	Mar 10	55.74%	46,412	439	Says that 10,000 people per week apply for small loans from the company [* Latest sales]
73	jjFOX	Recruitment consultancy	Bristol	Dec 09	55.55%	14,766	89	The firm’s job titles are ranks of the Japanese samurai
74	Wow! Stuff	Branded toy maker	Wolverhampton	Jan 10	54.50%	9,298	46	Is launching an 8ft tall radio-controlled crab at New York Toy Fair in February 2011
75	Goodman Associates	Media and advertising agency	Central London	Dec 09	54.34%	9,324	10	Specialises in selling travel advertising space, particularly for cruises
76	Catering Academy	Contract caterer	Staffordshire	Dec 09	53.92%	15,829	668	Sponsors a school in Mozambique, providing 140 free meals a day
77	Direct Traveller	Specialist tour operator	Surrey	Mar 10	52.80%	5,376	10	Claims its website can offer 110 different flight routes to Cyprus from Britain [* Latest sales]
78	Redfern Travel	Business travel agent	Bradford	Dec 09	52.38%	31,375	33	Its booking system recommends energy-saving trips to boost clients’ green credentials
79	MenKind	Men's gifts retailer	Surrey	Mar 10	52.18%	13,742	108	One-stop shop for men’s gifts offering watches and cuff links as well as gadgets
80	Henleys Clothing	Fashion retailer	Manchester	Mar 10	51.03%	48,288	295	Appears for the fourth consecutive year on the Fast Track 100 league table [* Latest sales]
81	M8 Group	Consumer website operator	West Lothian	Sep 10	49.83%	10,596	63	This group operates two websites selling pet and garden accessories [* Latest sales]
82	eXPD8	Retail services provider	Bristol	Mar 09	49.60%	7,388	723	The founders’ first client also provided the start-up funding for the company
83	ShP Solutions	Mobile phone recycler	Lancaster	Dec 09	47.94%	8,045	62	Claims to have raised £3m in partnership with charities such as Childline
84	Joules	Clothing retailer	Leicestershire	May 09	47.90%	35,122	315	This year it introduced its Baby Joule and high-end Boutique collections [† Latest sales]
85	PPF	Driver recruitment agency	Luton	Dec 09	47.51%	40,898	54	Bucked the credit crunch, winning 17 additional contracts during the recession
86	GO Outdoors	Outdoor equipment retailer	Sheffield	Jan 10	47.50%	74,005	497	Says that a climber preparing for Everest could buy all but two items from its stores [† Latest sales]
87	Morgan Law Recruitment	Recruitment consultancy	Central London	Sep 09	47.23%	36,266	52	Celebrated its 10th anniversary this year
88	Opti-cal Survey Equipment	Survey equipment supplier	Reading	Aug 10	47.18%	6,430	24	Supplies some of the equipment being used to build the 2012 Olympic village [* Latest sales]
89	Trojan Electronics	Electrical manufacturer & recycler	Swansea	Mar 10	47.12%	5,449	96	Says it recycles 1,200 tonnes of items a year for retail clients
90	Tangerine Confectionery	Confectionery manufacturer	Blackpool	Dec 09	47.11%	154,549	1,343	Claims to be Britain’s largest privately owned confectionery manufacturer
91	Wiggle	Online sports goods retailer	Portsmouth	Jan 10	46.91%	55,597	92	Sells sports gear to more than 70 countries
92	Balhousie Care Group	Care home operator	Forfar	Apr 10	46.61%	15,897	636	Makes its third consecutive appearance on the Fast Track 100 league table [* Latest sales]
93	Getabed.co.uk	Online hotel-room supplier	Hove	Sep 10	46.53%	13,395	16	Sells hotel rooms exclusively to travel agents [* Latest sales]
94	AJ Bell	Pension administrator	Manchester	Sep 09	46.43%	38,491	299	Says it has £13.7 billion of client assets under its administration
95	The Book Depository	Online book retailer	Gloucester	Jun 10	45.54%	74,272	58	At peak periods sends out more than 50,000 hand-packed orders a day [* Latest sales]
96	BLU 3 (UK)	Infrastructure services provider	Croydon	Mar 10	45.41%	23,252	122	Company is renewing the Victorian water pipes in southeast England at present [* Latest sales]
97	Endura	Bike apparel manufacturer	West Lothian	Apr 10	45.29%	10,555	71	Supplied double-padded cycle shorts for the quidditch scenes in Harry Potter [* Latest sales]
98	Ten Lifestyle Management	Concierge service provider	Central London	Aug 09	45.27%	11,300	183	Says it answered its millionth request in September 2010
99	Pieminister	Gourmet pie baker	Bristol	Mar 10	45.24%	4,993	89	Produces branded pies such as its steak and stilton “moo and blue” pie [* Latest sales]
100	Go Ape	Adventure course operator	Suffolk	Dec 09	43.57%	10,572	249	Saw its high-ropes adventure courses make their debut in America this year

* Supplied by Company † Annualised figure

Data Source: www.fasttrack.co.uk

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