04 Jul The Sunday Times reveals Britain’s 100 fastest-growing private companies
Join Talent, a remote-working outsourced recruitment firm, is Britain’s fastest-growing private company, according to the second annual Sunday Times 100 rankings, published today online at thesundaytimes.co.uk/100 and available as a supplement with the print edition of the newspaper this Sunday, 2nd July. The annual ranking identifies and celebrates Britain’s 100 leading entrepreneurial businesses, and showcases the people behind our most dynamic private companies.
Founded by Katrina Hutchinson O’Neill, 45, in 2018 after a career in large companies, Join Talent made £17.5 million 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 over 250 team members located across 21 countries, with clients from start-ups to tech unicorns and FTSE 30 household names.
The research for the Sunday Times 100 found on average the top 100 fastest-growing companies have increased their sales by 104% a year over the last three years to a combined £3.2 billion in sales.
In total these companies employ 15,160 people, having created 10,500 new jobs in the last three years, with 95 of them planning further hires in the next 12 months – equating to around 4,750 additional jobs.
Out of the 100 companies featured in the ranking just over a third (39) are based in London, with the rest spread through-out the country. This includes 15 in the northwest of England, 11 in Yorkshire and the Humber, and another 7 in the Midlands.
A record 28 of the businesses have female founders or co-founders, this includes Aneisha Soobroyen of natural pet food brand Scrumbles (#12). Established by Soobroyen and her husband Jack Walker from south London, the company made sales of £8.3 million last year – an impressive 190% a year increase in the last three years. Having turned down the Dragons on the BBC TV show Dragons’ Den, it has recently secured a £6m private equity investment to continue its growth strategy.
Two thirds of the businesses trade internationally including Bristol-based remote sensors developer Sintela (#6), which made 90% of its £10.4 million sales overseas last year.
Almost three quarters (71) of these companies were founded in just the last decade. The oldest company on the list is Wetherby-based energy conglomerate Bayford. Set up in 1919 by four survivors of the first world war, it has since found a new lease of life from investing in electric vehicle charging and the supply of green energy.
Two fifths of the top 100 fastest-growing companies have raised £190 million of external equity investment across 130 rounds, including Passenger (#9). The outdoor clothing brand sold a £15 million minority stake to a growth fund backed by Homeserve founder Richard Harpin in May 2023, as well as to former Gymshark chief executive Steve Hewitt.
Ben Francis, chief executive and co-founder of Gymshark, who supports the Sunday Times 100 and writes this weekend of his experience of building a hyper growth company, said:
“This list shines a light on companies doing amazing things. I look forward to seeing what they all do next.”
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. As well as a dedicated online hub and print supplements, The Sunday Times 100 also hosts a series of networking events for participants.
The Sunday Times 100 forms part of The Times Enterprise Network, a cross-platform network staffed by reporters from The Times and The Sunday Times, which was launched in 2021 to provide advice, inspire and inform established business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs.
