New data shows 1,000 fastest growing UK companies

LONDON, UK: BrewDog, Moonpig and Alexa Chung's favourite wellies among 1,000 companies leading economic recovery, says new report baed on Growth Intelligence data

Days before the Autumn Statement, politicians typically descend on the nearest factory or tech firm. But by looking at real time data footprints, software firm Growth Intelligence reveals the true faces of Britain's recovery for the first time.

BrewDog, the feisty Scottish brewery, Moonpig, the online printer, Skyscanner, the flight comparison website and Hunter Boot, worn by celebrities like Alexa Chung, are among Britain's 1,000 fastest growing mid-market firms.

Less well known firms include SugaRich, who recycle unsold bread to create animal feed, join the brands like dog-friendly Metro Bank and ageing rockers Iron Maiden, one of seven music companies.

Moving away from relying solely on static Companies House data, Growth Intelligence uses billions of real-time data points - from sources including email traffic, financial transactions, PCs on the web and office space - to figure out ‘growth'.

The list is published today in a report by the London Stock Exchange called ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain'.

Thunderhead, a global software firm, is one of the few success stories in the IT sector to have never had VC funding. Glen Manchester, its CEO, funded it entirely form the proceeds of selling his previous start-up.

Itself a tech start-up helping sales teams in major companies, the Growth Intelligence software tracks indicators such as employee growth, intellectual property and investments in patents and office space. These are far better indications of growth that old-fashion metrics allow because they imply companies planning ahead, whereas stock-piles of cash alone offer no such indicator.

Even lorry-spotter blogs are included. They identify fluctuations in road traffic activity for oil, agriculture and transport companies, which can define export movements. This was critical in identifying how SugaRich was stepping up its business with dozens of its lorries spotted by the web forums.

Banking unsurprisingly is the smallest sector with one entry, while the construction and engineering are the two most dominant, with 70 and 133 companies respectively. Logistics boasts 22 companies.

Selected for their consistent growth and individual outperformances against others in their sectors, other entries include retailers such as Mulberry, Poundworld and Cath Kidston along with Shazam, creators of a music recognition app and online lender, Wage Day Advance.

The unranked list of companies boast revenue between £6 million and £250 million spread over more than 100 sectors.

While the fast growth of firms like Mulberry will surprise nobody, Growth Intelligence's new approach of using Web data to measure growth has identified some surprising upcoming names through assessing growth in a more rational manner.

The software is used by numerous blue chips including BT, Lloyds, Barclays and KPMG.

Tom Gatten, CEO of Growth Intelligence, said:

"Our software works by automatically scanning tens of millions of websites and documents continuously. If a company changes, it is reflected in our system, and because of this, we believe it's a far better way to categorise business and measure growth than current, older, paper-based methods.

 

"This report reveals the true face of Britain's recovery - a mix of high fashion and new technology and some quite unique businesses that you would never find using conventional methods. Clearly firms like Metro Bank and BrewDog have had heaps of press, but who's previously heard of Sugarich, pig feed manufacturers who grew faster than PayPal, Google and Apple?"