BLUEFISH OFFICE PRODUCTS IS THE FASTEST-GROWING COMPANY IN THE MIDLANDS UK
Office products supplier Bluefish Office Products, based in Northampton, tops this year's list of companies based in the Midlands that appear in the prestigious Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 annual league table, published this weekend. More about Fast Track 100......
REVEALED: BRITAIN'S TOP ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPANIES
THE SUNDAY TIMES VIRGIN ATLANTIC FAST TRACK 100
Britain's one hundred fastest-growing private companies are revealed today in the ninth annual Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table.
West-Yorkshire based, ghd, whose hair products are used by style icons such as Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, has won the number one spot in this year's league table, which features fashionable brands such as Innocent, Carluccio's, Gordon Ramsay Holdings and Sex in the City indulgence, Jimmy Choo. Also highlighted are star companies of the entertainment world including production company Buffalo Pictures, co-founded by Martin Clunes, Littlestar, producer of hit ABBA musical MAMMA MIA! and Portsmouth City Football Club, which tripled sales after earning premier league status.
This year's top company, ghd - standing for good hair day - was founded by Martin Penny in 2001 in rural West Yorkshire. Penny's banker was initially sceptical when Penny asked for a loan to start ghd, to sell its ceramic hair-straightening iron made in Korea to upmarket London hair salons. ghd claims to sell to 10,000 British hair salons, or 85% of the market, pushing up sales by 365% a year, from an annualised £459,000 in 2001 to £46.1m in 2004.
Global Draw, ranked No 2, supplies betting terminals to bookmakers such as Coral and the Tote and says that 2,200 British bookies now use its terminals. The company was founded in 1998 by Steve Frater and Walter Grumuller, and has increased sales 308% a year, from £472,000 in 2001 to £32m in 2004. It is expanding in Austria and the Czech Republic, where its machines will allow punters to play roulette, bingo and lotteries.
Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Atlantic who have sponsored the league table for the past nine years comments:
"The Fast Track 100 should be compulsory reading for anyone looking to understand the dynamics of new business development in the UK. Entrepreneurs are spotting opportunities, creating products and services relevant to their customers and growing with vigour."
The 100 companies on this year's Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100, have on average more than doubled sales every year from 2001 to 2004, and their combined sales totalled £3.3 billion in 2004. They have collectively created over 18,781 new jobs since 2001 and directly employed 24,108 staff at the end of their 2004 financial year. They are all profitable and all were required to forecast an increase in sales this year.
Most of this year's Fast Track 100 companies are headquartered in London (31), the Southeast of England (26) and the North of England (21), with the remaining breakdown as follows: the Midlands (15), east of England (4), southwest of England (2), Scotland (1). There are no companies from Northern Ireland or Wales.
Household names on previous Fast Track 100 league tables include Carphone Warehouse and Topps Tiles that went on to float, and others such as Travelex, Pets at Home and Bravissimo.
The research was conducted by Fast Track, the independent research and events company, founded and run by Dr Hamish Stevenson, who is also an associate fellow of Templeton College, Oxford University.
Ends
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THE SUNDAY TIMES VIRGIN ATLANTIC FAST TRACK 100
Notes for editors:
About the league table
Now in its ninth year, The Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 annual league table is compiled by Oxford-based research and events company Fast Track and published with The Sunday Times business section on 4 December and on www.fasttrack.co.uk.
iIn addition to title sponsor Virgin Atlantic, the league table is co-sponsored by HSBC, Microsoft and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
League table criteria
Companies are ranked according to their annual growth rate in sales between 2001 and 2004. Companies had to be registered in the UK, unquoted and ultimate holding companies, not subsidiaries. Companies also had to forecast an increase in sales from 2004 to 2005, and be making a profit and employ more than 10 staff in 2004. The table excludes technology companies which are featured in a separate Tech Track 100 league table.
The research was carried out by Fast Track between 1 August and 1 November 2005. All companies were interviewed by telephone, and the vast majority (84) were visited by the research team.
About Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic has built its international reputation on the quality of its customer service, innovative product development and unrivalled value for money. Now flying to 26 destinations worldwide including Shanghai, Sydney and Las Vegas, innovations such as complimentary limousines, in-flight beauty therapy and its new Upper Class Suite have earned the airline numerous awards.
www.virginatlantic.com
About Fast Track
Fast Track is an Oxford-based research and events company which tracks the UK's top-performing private companies and entrepreneurs. Fast Track was founded and is run by Dr Hamish Stevenson, who is also an associate fellow of Templeton College, Oxford University.
In addition to the Fast Track 100, it also produces the Tech Track 100 league table of the fastest-growing technology companies, the Profit Track 100, which is based on profit growth, the Top Track 250, which ranks Britain's biggest middle-market companies and the Top Track 100, which ranks Britain's biggest private companies.
www.fasttrack.co.uk
For further information please contact:
Eva Gronbech Fast Track Tel: 01865 297100
Email: eva.gronbech@fasttrack.co.uk
Website: www.fasttrack.co.uk
