6 The Sunday Times December 2, 2018

FAST TRACK 100

Raise that schnapps glass — we’re ready to invest in youinevitable consequencesfor the economy.

In light of that, government initiatives that support business growth should be safeguarded. Important examples include the Enterprise Investment Scheme, which helpsgrowth companies raise money by offering taxreliefs to investors, and entrepreneurs’ relief, which provides incentives to business founders. They are both crucial elements in our entrepreneurial ecosystem.

We have backed more than 250 growth companies to date, with 20 of those appearing on Fast Track 100 tables. Despite the uncertainty over what2019 will hold, we plan to intensify our efforts and build our rate of investment. We are meeting fantastic entrepreneurs with the big plans to make it on to next year’s Fast Track 100.

Stephen Welton is founding chief executive at BGF

the next 10 years, is a promising start and more needs to be done.

Brexit will arrive next yearand the uncertainty it will produce means there is a significant risk that investment in the UK will drop in 2019, posing

typically looking for £5m to £15m in backing, but only a handful of investors such as BGF are able to back them.

The British Business Bank’s £2.5bn patient capital initiative, which could support £7.5bn of private sector investment over

options when it comes to raising between £100,000 and £3m, from crowdfunding to angel investors and seed funds. A much smaller cohort of scale-ups — 35,210 in 2016, according to figures cited in the ScaleUp Institute’s latest review — are

Mission Mars (No 5), which owns Albert’s Schloss, is thriving because it is innovative

Braidwater (No 45), a family-owned firm that builds homes across Northern Ireland. In February this year we provided extra funding to fuel further expansion.

The country needs to build more homes and a long-term supply of capital is vital as development takes time. Braidwater, led by the McGinnis family, continues to control its own destiny, but it has the long-term funding to achieve its goals.

Within all this positivity, there are those red warning lights that could damagethe UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. A big concern is a sharp or gradual fall in overall business investment, with official statistics showing a 0.5% decline in the first quarter, a 0.7% drop in the second and a 1.2% fall in the third.

Investment in scale-upsin particular needs to increase rather than decrease. There are nearly 6m small companies in the UK. These firms have many

from £1.3m in 2015 to an annualised £27.7m in September this year, shows that consumers are still spending, but are selective and seeking something different. Mission Marsis positioned to expand across the UK and we have the deep pockets to go with its deep ambitions.

The Thai restaurant chainGiggling Squid (No 99) — another BGF portfolio company — also highlights how a distinctive offering canstrike a chord with diners.Its simple, fresh Thai cuisine, served at lunch and dinner, has proved a point of difference in the crowded casual dining space.

Both businesses underlinewhat we are typically looking for — innovation in existing markets and an ability to execute it brilliantly. In return, we provide long-term patient capital that management teams use to deliver their strategic plans.

Another example is our support since 2015 for

Against the odds, 2018 will finish on a high for UK growth companies. Confidence is a fragile thing and talking to entrepreneurs there are some red warning lights flashing on the horizon for 2019, but nothing should take away from the achievements that we have seen to date.

This year’s Fast Track 100firms in particular have put in a stellar performance, growing their sales by an average of 78% a year over

the past three years to a combined total of £3.1bn.

Such success is reflectedin the opportunities we see across the country. As a growth capital investor backing ambitious firms, BGF completed more investments than ever before in the last quarter. By the end of the year, we will have invested nearly £450m, averaginga new investment every week and demonstratingthe ambition of the companies we support.

The bar and restaurant operator Mission Mars (No 5), one of our newest portfolio companies, demonstrates the formulafor success. It runs venues across northwest England, including the iconic Bavarian-themed restaurant and beer cellar Albert’s Schloss. This vast venue in central Manchester offers European beers on tap, Alpine cocktails, homemade schnapps and distinctive musical acts. The company’s success, with sales growing

More than ever, Britain’s future growth stars need backing to meet the challenges that lie ahead

STEPHEN WELTON BGF

year it raised £9m from Mobeus Equity Partners to fund expansion in Europe. It plans to open a contact centre in Holland next year, as well as create another 150 jobs in Southend-on-Sea.

64 Red Arch 57.12%Automotive component manufacturerManaging director Mike Theaker, 52, founded Daventry-based Red Arch in 2010. It designs and manufactures specialist parts for cars at its Northamptonshire factory, including cylinder heads, badges and engine tuning kits. It is best known for its high-performance exhaust systems, which have features such as a Bluetooth toolto modulate noise. Customers include the Chinese marque Changan and BMW — it made 70% of the exhausts used on BMW’s M-series sports cars. Sales in the year to July hit £14.7m, about 85% of which were generated overseas.

65 Homeslice 56.65%Pizza restaurant chainAlan and Mark Wogan, 51 and 48, the sons of the late Sir Terry Wogan, are behind this pizza chain, founded in 2012. The duo teamed up with chef Ry Jessup, 30, touring festivals and street markets with their wood-fired pizzas before opening the first Homeslice restaurant in Covent Garden. It has now expanded to five sites in central London, including one in the former BBC Television Centre. Customers can buy pizzas whole orby the slice, with unusual toppings including spiced lamb, savoy cabbage and sumac yoghurt. Sales reached £5.5m in the year to April and there are plans to open a sixth site next month.

66 Smyle 56.27%Creative agencyThe Ryder Cup opening and closing ceremonies and Rolls-Royce’s centenary year party are among the events organised by this agency. Chief executive Rick Stainton, 45, and innovation director Matt Margetson, 44, founded the Hertford business in 2003, steering turnover to £27m in the year to March 2018 thanks to work on live events and digital experiences for clients such as Samsung, Salesforce, EY and Red Bull.In April Smyle sold a majority stake to the London private equity firm Rockpool for an undisclosed sum. As part of the deal, Chad Lion-Cachet, 49, was appointed chairman.

HEADQUARTER LOCATIONS OF THE FAST TRACK 100

Southeast

Midlands

Northwest

Northeast& Yorkshire

Southwest

East

NorthernIreland

Wales

Scotland

3420

4

5

3

8

4

2

8

12

London

client, asking him to carry out a construction project, led him to set up the firm in 2001. It has since worked on more than 1,000 schemes for clients such as IBM and Oracle, and says it has 93% repeat business. It is currently involved in a number of brownfield and greenfield developments.

59 Welland Power 59.40%Generator manufacturerFor more than 60 years, this family-owned firm has been manufacturing diesel generators at its factory in Lincolnshire. Under managing director Charlie Farrow, 37 — who is the third generation of his family to head up the business — it produces more than 3,000 generators a year, roughly 95% of which end up abroad, providing power for schools, hospitals, airports and police

53 Harrison Bathrooms 66.48%Bathroom distributorFounder James Harrison, 36, followed family tradition when he started this bathroom business in 2013. His great-grandfather worked closely with Thomas Crapper, the flushing lavatory pioneer, and his grandfather and father also worked in the sector. The Keighley-based firm now supplies more than 1,000 UK retailers and plumbing merchants with 12,000 products a week from its Scudo-branded catalogue, including freestanding baths and stone basins. Sales grew to £13.1m in the year to June and it is targeting expansion in 2019, having secured funding to establish a depot in southern England.

54 Total Management Group 66.39%Events and travel agencyThis firm’s blue-chip clients include Spotify, Harrods and Paramount Pictures. Chief executive Natasha Thomas, 41, launched the business in 2006 to provide corporate hospitality solutions. Its services have since grown to include travel and events, as well as bespoke experiences. These range from a private showroom tour and dinner with a designer during haute couture week in Paris, to attending the Venice carnival ball or a private masterclass with a Michelin-starred chef. It also produces a travel magazine called The Journal, which is sent to 15,000 subscribers worldwide. Sales — which represent retainer fees and commissions — hit £12m in the year to March.

55 Easirent 64.35%Car rental providerCustomers can hire a car from Easirent at 34 locations across the UK and Ireland. Most of its branches are near rather than within airports, which lowers costs and enables it to compete with larger rivals. The Liverpool-based firm also takes bookings online and through brokerage services. Founded in 2009 by father-and-son team Nick, 68, and Paul Hanley, 38, it recorded sales of £31.2m last year, helped by launching four branches at Florida airports. It has also diversified into non-airport car hire by adding new city locations, with its fleet now numbering 5,100 vehicles.

56 ITD Global 63.70%International courierAir freight, cargo consolidation and ecommerce are among the services offered by this Manchester firm, which was founded in 2004 by Avi Mechlowitz, 49, Jonny Mocton, 46, and David Nissenbaum, 40. ITD helps companies find the most appropriate courier for their goods, working in partnership with Hermes, Yodel, FedEx and UPS. It has also helped to develop an ecommerce software product that calculates the expected size and weight of a parcel based on items in a customer’s online basket, and selects the most appropriate courier for the package before automatically printing a label. Sales grew to £18.1m in the year to April.

57 Xcede Group 63.07%Specialist recruitment consultancyDemand for staff that can help companies implement their digital transformation strategies has driven growth at this specialist recruiter. William Jacques, 44, started Xcede in 2003, originally operating out of his apartment. It now works with the likesof Facebook, Deliveroo and British Gas, helping them fill roles in their data, digital and analytics teams. Turnover — which represents contractor gross salaries and permanent placement fees — hit £18.6m last year, when Jacques also led a management buyout. Xcede anticipates that demand for data professionals in Europe will fuel future growth; it is set to open a Berlin office early next year.

58 mac-group 62.95%Construction and fit-out contractorBased in Newry, Northern Ireland,this office fit-out and construction contractor has benefited from the influx of large US companies setting up basesin Ireland. Founder and managing director Paul McKenna, 51 — who had worked as a joiner for £8 a day as a teenager — increased sales to £94.7m last year. A fortuitous call from a former

World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is one of the boxers whose success has fuelled thegrowth of Barry Hearn’s events promoter Matchroom Sport (No 60)

stations. Investments in a multi-language Facebook page and its IT infrastructure have helped secure clients in west Africa, Kenya, China and Sri Lanka, boosting turnover to £23m in the yearto March.

60 Matchroom Sport 58.60%Sporting events promoterEssex-based Matchroom Sport produces more than 2,500 hours of original footage every year, staging, promoting and televising more than 150 events across 11 sports. Set up in 1982 by chairman Barry Hearn, 70, it was mostly involved in snooker event management during the 1980s, but has diversified its coverage to include golf, fishing and gymnastics. Recent growth has been fuelled by the success of Matchroom Boxing, whose stable includes Anthony

Joshua, Kell Brook and Amir Khan. Its pay-per-view fights regularly attract more than 1.5m purchases throughSky Sports Box Office. Barry’s sonEddie Hearn, 39, now heads the group, helping to steer sales to £137.2m in the year to June. Its operating profits of £21m are one of the highest on the league table.

61 Shopper Media Group 58.16%Marketing agencyFounded as a single agency called Capture, this group now comprises three companies, having added Lobster and Threefold to its stable in 2016. Specialising in marketing that operates at the point of purchase, it has run more than 5,000 campaigns for retailers such as Co-op and Very, and brands such as Mars and PepsiCo. Co-founders Joel Hopwood, 42, and Matthew Lee, 43,previously worked together at the agency behind Tesco’s Clubcard programme. Sales hit £24.4m last year, a figure that includes media buying on behalf of clients.

62 The Office Group 57.76%Shared workspace providerMore than 15,000 members work across this firm’s 33 buildings, 31 of which are in London with the other two in Bristol and Leeds. Its flexible working spaces have amenities such as gyms, meditation rooms and even woodworking studios, and many are located in historic buildings. Examples include Tintagel House, the former Metropolitan police headquarters in Vauxhall, where hotdesks and offices have replaced features such as a room-sized computer. Joint chief executives Charlie Green, 48, and Olly Olsen, 45, co-founded the firm in 2003, selling a majority stake to the private equity firm Blackstone in June 2017 in a deal that valued the business at £500m. Turnover hit £90.1m last year.

63 Ventrica 57.62%Outsourced contact centre operatorThis firm helps to keep other brands’ customers happy by answering their questions via email, LiveChat and on the phone, working on behalf of clients such as Jimmy Choo, New Look and Ugg Australia. Founder Dino Forte, 52, anticipated that there would be demand for such a business because of the rise of online shopping, so he founded Ventrica in 2009. Sales hit £9.4m in 2017 and this