The 24th annual Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table was released this weekend, detailing British private companies ranked according to fastest sales growth.
Three of the companies that placed within the top 100 are based in the Southwest of England, employing a collective 352 people and representing a combined 42% growth in sales, amounting to a total of £48m.
Of the three entrants from the South West two appeared in the Fast Track 100 for the first time, including Exeter-based company AnTech, which ranked no.97 in the league. AnTech supplies products and services to the oil and gas sector and specialises in revitalising old, existing wells in order to reduce the requirement for drilling new wells. The company, which alongside its Devon headquarters has offices in the United States and Saudi Arabia, exports 80% of its exclusively UK-manufactured products. Under Managing Director, Toni Miszewski the company has seen sales grow by 39% per year to £5.9m in 2019. Despite the national lockdown, AnTech’s facilities and services have remained operational throughout 2020.
The region’s highest-ranked company is Bristol-based Real Wrap Co., which has seen an annual growth in sales of 44% to £10.9m in the year to March. Founded in 2012 by childhood friends Jason Howell and Phillippe Gill, Real Wrap Co. supplies sandwiches, wraps and hot food, to schools, universities and NHS hospitals, and joined with councils during the first national lockdown to provide recipe boxes for low-income households.
The companies representing the Southwest appear alongside businesses from around Britain, including brewing company BrewDog and fitness clothing brand Gymshark, both valued at over £1bn. Star alumni from previous years has included the chip designer ARM, which featured in 1997 with sales of £16.7m and is currently being purchased by American technology company Nvidia for £31bn, and drinks manufacturer Fever-Tree, which floated at £154m in 2014 and is now worth £2.9bn.
The Fast Track 100 is sponsored by Virgin Atlantic, BDO, DHL Express and N+1 Singer, and is compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.
Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Group, which has supported Fast Track 100 throughout its 24 years, said:
“While we are living in extremely uncertain and challenging times, there is one thing I am certain of: entrepreneurs are the dreamers, the doers, and the innovators that have the power to have a positive impact on society. There are so many inspiring examples of this on the Fast Track 100 league table showing this is just as true, if not more so, in 2020 as it ever has been.”
The national picture: The combined average sales growth achieved by this year’s Fast Track 100 companies has been 73% per year over three years, totalling £4.4bn and more than tripling their combined workforce over the period to 32,000 people.
Geographical spread: London is home to the most company headquarters with 31, followed by the Southeast with 19. 18 of the companies are based in the North of England, with 10 in the Northwest and eight in Yorkshire and the Northeast. Six of the companies are based in the Midlands, five in Scotland, five in the east of England, three in the southwest, two in Wales, and one in Northern Ireland.
The full league table was published on 6 December with the business section of The Sunday Times and can be viewed on www.fasttrack.co.uk.
If you would like any further information or would like to know more about AnTech Ltd then please contact us or take a look at our website www.antech.co.uk.
Credit: Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Tract 100
