1000 1000 COMPANIES TO INSPIRE 1000 COMPANIES TO INSPIRE 2018 BRITAIN BRITAIN 5 YEARS OF 1000 COMPANIES TO INSPIRE BRITAIN This edition marks the 5th anniversary of celebrating the great and the good of British business 2018 Our sponsors www.1000companies.com 2 1 COMP000ANIES TO INSPIRE 20 18 BRITAIN London Stock Exchange Group Editorial Board Contents Lauren Crawley-Moore (Head of Marketing Campaigns & Events), Alexandra Ritterman (Senior Press Officer), Jennifer Way (Head of UK Events), Rugiyya Gahramanli (Marketing Associate), Ester Russom (Press Officer) Forewords 97 Martin McTague Policy Director, Federation of Small Businesses 5 Nikhil Rathi CEO, London Stock Exchange plc 106 Dr Adam Marshall Wardour Director General, British Chambers of Commerce Led by Claire Oldfield (Managing Director) and Ben Barrett (Creative Director) 9 Stephen Welton CEO, Business Growth Fund 116 Tim Ward The team included: Matt Williams (Art Director); Bethan Rees (Editor) and Wardour editorial; 11 Anthony Hotson CEO, Quoted Companies Alliance Charlotte Tapp and Jennifer Flower (Project Directors); Angela Derbyshire and Jack Morgan (Production) CEO, Cenkos Wardour, Drury House, 34–43 Russell Street, London WC2B 5HA, United Kingdom 12 Keith Morgan Sectors +44 (0)20 7010 0999 www.wardour.co.uk CEO, British Business Bank 22 Creative Industries 13 Luca Peyrano How Altitude Film Entertainment is CEO, ELITE showcasing independent films 14 Justin Fitzpatrick 32 Food & Drink Co-founder and COO, DueDil Turtle Bay brings a slice of the Caribbean to Britain’s food scene Pictures: Getty Images, Alamy, iStock 16 Ben Wright Business Editor, The Telegraph 42 Retail All other pictures used by permission Tropic Skincare and the booming natural beauty industry Cover illustration: Parko Polo Research findings Printed by Graphius on FSC certified material 54 ELITE 18 Crunching the numbers Showcasing LSEG’s support for amibitious 20 1000 companies: UK snapshot businesses in the UK 64 Manufacturing & Engineering Sponsored features Croxsons explains why consumers are moving 52 Business Growth Fund away from mass-made glass items 74 Cenkos 76 Scottish Firms Spotlight on some of the companies making waves north of the border Company information powered by DueDil, February 2018 Expert commentary 4 The Rt Hon Theresa May MP 84 5 for Five Celebrating the five companies that have An official publication of London Stock Exchange Group Prime Minister of the United Kingdom made it into the book for the past five years 8 The Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP First Minister of Scotland 98 Technology & Digital Unit9 pushes the boundaries for what’s 10 Jonathan Reynolds MP possible for brands Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury 108 Leisure 31 Jenny Tooth OBE © London Stock Exchange Group 2018. All rights reserved Galgorm Resort & Spa showcases what Chief Executive, UK Business Northern Ireland has to offer 10 Paternoster Square, London EC4M 7LS Angels Association 118 Green 39 Irene Graham First Mile and UK Waste Solutions endeavour CEO, ScaleUp Insitute to make recycling more efficient By making this communication, none of London Stock Exchange Group plc and/or its group undertakings (which shall be construed in accordance with section 1161 of the Companies Act 2006) (“LSEG”), Wardour Communications 40 Tim Hames Limited (“Wardour”), or the individual authors intend to invite or induce you to engage in any investment activity for the purposes of the UK regulatory regime (other than, where relevant, in respect of the London Stock Exchange Director General, British Private Equity At a glance plc’s exempt activities of operating UK-regulated investment exchanges and providing clearing services in the UK). 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No part of these trademarks, or any other trademark owned by LSEG can be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form without express written consent by the owner of the trademark. 2 3 LSEG FOREWORD COMMENTARY THE RT HON THERESA MAY MP INSIDE THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM THE UK’S DYNAMIC BUSINESSES UNDERPIN DAILY LIFE REPORT “ FROM DYNAMIC START-UPS TO olicymakers of all political persuasions are clear: small Pand medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the heartbeat ESTABLISHED FAMILY FIRMS, of our economy, driving jobs and growth. Their dynamism SMES ARE THE BACKBONE OF plays a huge part in the UK’s ability to innovate and export, and, in doing so, creates high-quality jobs for the next OUR COUNTRY” generation, while addressing stubborn structural economic issues, such as low productivity. At London Stock Exchange Group, we agree and are proud he world around us, the world we take for granted in Their work touches on every aspect of our lives. Look to publish the fifth annual edition of our groundbreaking so many ways, has been shaped by businesses. at Everyman Cinemas, bringing beautiful old buildings T report: 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain, which identifies From when you first woke up this morning to when you back into use and breathing new cultural life into the United Kingdom’s fastest-growing SMEs and high-growth go to sleep tonight, you will constantly be interacting with communities across the UK. Sedgefield’s Kromek Group, companies across multiple sectors and regions. the fruits of innovative entrepreneurs’ labours. The apps developing technology that protects us from threats as on your smartphone, the coffee in your cup, the train that diverse as cancer and terrorism; or Selkirk’s Spark Energy, takes you to the office and the TV you relax in front of at supplying gas and electricity to hundreds of thousands of “SMEs are the heartbeat Key findings from the report the end of the day, they are all made possible by a complex rental properties. The service sector contributes about 80% of UK GDP, but web of private companies. From dynamic start-ups to established family firms, SMEs of our economy, driving our research paints an encouraging picture of diversity When you flick a switch, the lights come on thanks to a are the backbone of our country. I want to build an economy among the country’s fastest-growing SMEs. The top five string of businesses. When you want to buy food, you can that works for all, and that means working with, and jobs and growth. Their industries represented, accounting for 40% of the list, do so thanks to a supply chain of companies that leads listening to, smaller firms. The priorities I have set – a more includes Financial Services but the biggest industry by from a seed producer to the bread on your table. productive, skilled workforce, and an economy balanced dynamism plays a huge far is Engineering & Construction, followed by Businesses do not just provide jobs and boost the across the UK and open to new opportunities – can only be Information Technology. The UK can be confident in economy, valuable though both those roles are. They make achieved if we listen to these businesses. And they lie at the part in the UK’s ability to its economic potential in both traditional and newer daily life possible, providing us with a standard of living few heart of our industrial strategy, a strategy designed not just business sectors. could have dreamed of less than a century ago. to support the big household names, but all the companies, innovate and export” While London and the South East are traditionally regarded To me, that is why all businesses, especially smaller large and small, that underpin our daily life.