Carfinance247 leads the way in Fast Track 100
EIGHT companies from the region, led by Carfinance 247, have won places on a prestigious national league table of private companies with the fastest-growing sales.
The majority (six) of the firms on the annual Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 league table, are based in Manchester, while there is one representative each from Cheshire and Cumbria.
The eight companies, down from 10 last year, include five new entrants to the league table. Together they employ 1,050 staff and have achieved combined sales of £225m.
Family-owned Carfinance247, is a new entrant at No 6. The online car finance broker was set up in 2006 by brothers and motor trade entrepreneurs Reg and Louis Rix, who previously founded Netcars.com, which they sold in 2013 to RAC.
The firm received 400,000 finance inquiries in its latest year, resulting in revenues of £9.7m. In the last three years sales have grown 148%.
Last week the firm was ranked number 13 in the 2015 Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50, a league table of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK.
Close behind in seventh spot is another new entry, Cumbria company, Athena PTS. Based in Barrow, the electrical engineering services provider has seen three-year growth of 126% and has won work from the likes of EDF, Eon and BAE Systems.
Slipping down the rankings from 5th to 12th is online fashion firm Missguided, while Trafford Park homeware manufacturer Designer Habitat, is another a new entrant at number 36.
Mark Januszewski and Craig Foster started the business six years ago, and it now makes products ranging from cake decorations and pressure cookers to power tools and clocks. Its launch into America helped to boost sales to an annualised £21.4m this year.
Serial leisure sector entrepreneurs Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts’ Knutsford-based New World Trading Company is in at number 20. It has grown revenues 95% over the last three years to £17.7m and offers a record 151 rums at its Smugglers Cove bar in Liverpool.
The league table and awards programme is sponsored by Virgin, Barclays, BDO and BGF, and is compiled by Fast Track, the research and networking events company.
Sir Richard Branson of Virgin, the title sponsor for all 19 years, said: “This year’s Fast Track 100 is packed full of entrepreneurs and family businesses tackling many different challenges head-on and thriving thanks to their team spirit and togetherness.
“Entrepreneurship and family values are at the heart of everything we do at Virgin. Like many on the Fast Track 100, we’ve turned a family business into a business family. Working with family works.”
Previous Fast Track 100 success stories include Liverpool discount retailer B&M Retail, which featured in 2009 with sales of £256m, floated in June 2014 and is now worth £3.2bn.
