Strong NW showing in latest ranking of UK’s fastest growing businesses

Fifteen North West companies are featured in this year’s top 100 fastest-growing private companies, compiled by The Sunday Times.

The Sunday Times 100 – Britain’s fastest-growing businesses is being published in full this weekend.

Its second annual ranking reveals that the Top 100 have generated sales of £3.2bn, up by £2.8bn, in the past three years.

More than 10,000 jobs have been created by the Top 100 in the past three years, and a record 28 companies in the latest listing were founded by female entrepreneurs.

Two thirds of the businesses trade internationally.

Jim Armitage, business editor of The Sunday Times said: “The Sunday Times 100 is our annual celebration of the UK’s entrepreneurial achievements.

“The founders of these exciting businesses are vital job creators and innovators. The top 100 performed exceptionally during the pandemic and are proving resilient in the face of inflation, higher interest rates and a weaker domestic economy.”

The research for the Sunday Times 100 was conducted in partnership with Beauhurst, a source of private company data.

Companies featured in the Top 100 must be independent, privately-owned and based in the UK, with sales exceeding £5m in their latest year of trading.

They must also have four years of accounts, with sales growth measured by compound annual growth rate over the latest three financial years, annualised sales should exceed £250,000 in the base year, and not show a drop from the penultimate to the latest year.

Companies should also be in profit (operating) in their latest year, while recruitment, energy and media firms must show gross profits of at least £5m in their latest accounts.

Topping the listing is Scottish firm, Join Talent, a remote-working outsourced recruitment firm. Founded by Katrina Hutchinson O’Neill, 45, in 2018 after a career in large companies, Join Talent made £17.5m in sales in 2022, a staggering 304% a year increase since 2019, and plans to double again in size in the next two years.

The talent acquisition business has more than 250 team members located across 21 countries, with clients from start-ups to tech unicorns and FTSE 30 household names.

Running Join Talent a very close second is Manchester-based sportswear brand, Castore which, while boasting £115m of sales in 2022, trailed the winner in terms of its percentage improvement, at 285.8%.

Castore was founded in 2015 by Liverpudlian brothers Thomas and Philip Beahon, and provides kits for a range of sporting sectors, including football, cricket, tennis and F1.

Other North West companies featured in the latest Top 100 are:

• Craftd London (28th), a Cheshire-based men’s jewellery brand
• Represent (37), a menswear brand based in Bolton
• Fruugo (41), a Cumbria-based online marketplace which was placed at 52 in the previous year’s listing
• grüum (47), Stockport-based skin and hair care brand
• Applied Nutrition (53), a Liverpool-based sports nutrition supplements business
• Hispec Electrical Products (56), based in Lancashire, the firm is a fire and lighting products supplier
• LCM Environmental Services (57), a fuel management service located in Lancashire
• Pets Purest (58), the Cheshire-based pet supplements retailer has slipped from its 16th place the previous year
• Roberts Recycling (71), a Liverpool-based textile recycling specialist
• Online Home Shop (73), a Manchester-based homeware retailer which was placed in 25th slot a year ago
• Airtime Rewards (75), a consumer rewards plaform based in Manchester
• CurrentBody (89), a beauty devices retailer hailing from Manchester
• CMSPI (98), a Manchester payments consultancy that achieved an 86th placing last year
• Manière De Voir (100), the Manchester fashion brand, which has tumbled from 50th slot in 2022