September 10, 2017 Researched and compiled by Fast Track BRITAIN’S Title sponsor Main sponsors FASTEST TECH GROWING PRIVATE TECHNOLOGY TRACK 100 COMPANIES Britain’s brightest win global backing Our latest research shows a record number of hyper-growth tech companies have attracted investors, writes Chris Marshall Clever British tech entrepreneurs are vehicle of Autonomy co-founder Mike attracting cash from all over the world in Lynch. It has raised $180m (£138m), a vote of confidence for the UK’s thriving including $75m in July. Headquartered digital economy in spite of fears that in Cambridge and San Francisco, it is Brexit could stifle investment. among the 80 Tech Track 100 companies More than two-thirds (68) of this year’s that have generated revenue overseas. Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 Another is Farfetch (No 52), an online have raised money from private equity fashion platform that has raised £500m, houses, venture capital firms and busi- including $397m (£305m) from Chinese ness angels from Europe, Asia and Amer- ecommerce business JD.com in June. ica. This was up from 46 last year and the Farfetch is one of three unicorns in the highest since the league table was first table — small, fast-growing tech firms published in 2001. However, there are a with valuations of more than $1bn. The record 40 loss-making companies, com- others are currency exchange platform pared with 25 typically — and this comes TransferWise (No 5) and peer-to-peer amid growing concerns of another tech lending platform Funding Circle (No 27). bubble, not helped by worries over the Of the unicorns that appeared in the Tech future of Uber. Track 100 last year, travel search engine They rank alongside self-funded busi- Skyscanner was bought by China’s Ctrip nesses in the 17th annual ranking of Brit- for £1.4bn in November, while ecom- ain’s fastest-growing private technology, merce technology developer Ve Inter– media and telecoms firms. Combined, active was bought out of administration the 100 have achieved record average in April for a reported £2m. sales growth of 99% a year over their last Our 100 companies are located all over three years, to make a total of £2.9bn. the UK, but 57 have their headquarters in Sitting comfortably: creating unique stories for children has turned into a booming business for David Cadji-Newby, Pedro Serapicos, Asi Sharabi and Tal Oron Together they employ 15,300 people and London. These include No 1 firm Won- have created 11,830 jobs over the period. derbly, the personalised children’s book 1 Wonderbly 294.27% take on the personalised book business. enabled the company to develop its It credits its growth to its business The availability of growth capital is a publisher whose sales have shot up 294% Personalised children’s books They worked on their first story, publishing platform and create new model. It creates the stories and key feature of the healthy digital eco- a year. It is among the firms breathing Bedtime stories in 200 countries have whose plot changes according to the personalised stories in 12 languages. illustrations in-house, alongside the system supporting tech firms as they new life into the media sector, as Sean gone hi-tech thanks to this company’s letters of a child’s name, in their spare There was a publicity coup last year technology to customise the books scale up, as Wendy Tan White of BGF Duffy of Barclays explores on page 2. software, which generates unique time before its launch in April 2013. By when its book The Incredible and ecommerce software to order Ventures explains on page 6. A new generation of “adtech” firms, books based on a child’s name, birth November, sales had hit 50,000 copies a Intergalactic Journey Home, which uses them online. It has no inventory and One firm benefiting from new financ- driven by advances in technology, is date or location. month — all through word of mouth, Nasa images and mapping technology, prints on demand through third parties. ing is cyber-security developer Darktrace another feature discovered by our Asi Sharabi, 43, conceived the idea newspaper reviews and social media. was read live from the International Books are sold through its website, not (No 3), which is backed by investors research, as BDO’s Tony Spillett explains for the business one evening in 2012 Their profile was raised further in Space Station by astronaut Tim Peake. in shops, giving it direct contact with including Invoke Capital, the investment on page 4. These include LoopMe while reading a tailored storybook to 2014 when Sharabi and his team Wonderbly, formerly known as Lost customers and control over pricing. (No 20), which uses artificial intelligence his daughter. “I thought it was a great appeared on BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den and My Name, was tipped as a Tech Track This month it launched a to learn what ads to show to mobile users. concept but poorly executed,” he said. secured £100,000 from investor Piers One to Watch last year and has leapt personalised book featuring the FAST TRACK Other companies, such as Smarkets Another two fathers and an uncle — Linney. This was followed by £16.5m in into the Tech Track 100 league table Roald Dahl character Willy Wonka. (No 2) and RateSetter (No 62), are tipped Pedro Serapicos, 42, Tal Oron, 40, and three rounds, led by investors including with 2017 sales of £25.9m as book sales Sharabi and his team may feel they to raise more funds on the stock markets, David Cadji-Newby, 42 — joined him to Google Ventures. The funding has climb towards 3m. have found their own golden ticket. Tech Track 100 ranks Britain’s private joining Tech Track 100 alumni such as technology, media and telecoms Just Eat, now valued at £4.2bn, and companies with the fastest-growing Sophos, valued at £2.2bn. Tim Cockroft 2 Smarkets 280.05% 3 Darktrace 267.61% 4 Hunter Macdonald 267.06% 5 TransferWise 226.85% sales. It is produced by Fast Track, the of N+1 Singer explores the advantages of Betting exchange Cyber-security developer IT consultancy Currency transfer provider Oxford firm that researches Britain’s following this path on page 8. This peer-to-peer betting site allows This firm’s software detects and counters FTSE 100 companies and government This London firm was founded in 2010 top-performing private companies and Some firms have thrived without users to set their own odds on sports cyber-security threats. Founded in 2013, departments are among the clients of by Taavet Hinrikus, 36, who was Skype’s organises invitation-only dinners for external investment, such as Payment- events, politics and current affairs. Its it has joint headquarters in Cambridge in this Reading firm. It helps companies to first employee, and fellow Estonian their owners and directors to network sense (No 63), whose founders George chief executive, Jason Trost, 36, started Britain and San Francisco in America, design and operate their IT systems Kristo Käärmann, 38, who were and meet its sponsors. Karibian and Jan Farrarons also started the company in 2008 in an attempt to with a further 22 offices globally. more efficiently, with its team of more frustrated by the high fees charged to Capital on Tap (No 48). Thirty-seven of undercut traditional bookmakers by In May, its technology protected than 100 developers creating bespoke send money abroad. TransferWise’s For full ranking criteria, see page 2 the 100 were founded by people who applying financial trading principles to customers, including an NHS agency, applications. In 2015, Hunter Macdonald platform allows it to bypass the have started at least one other venture, as sports betting. Since then, £5bn has from the WannaCry ransomware attack paid an undisclosed sum to acquire traditional international bank payments Hiscox’s Steve Langan explores below. swapped hands on its exchange, helping that hit hospitals. It has raised more than softQware, an application development system. It says it now handles more than Follow us @ST_TechTrack Whether they are run by seasoned sales — which represent commission — $180m, including $75m (£58m) in July, firm, helping turnover this year rise to £1bn each month. The company has executives or first-time entrepreneurs, reach £25.4m in 2016. Smarkets has from investors that include Invoke £29.1m. The company was founded more than 1m customers, and revenue Awards dinner and regardless of their ownership, this raised £2.5m from investors including T- Capital and Insight Venture Partners. by chief executive Mark Ward, 43, hit £67m this year. It has been valued at car partner year’s league table companies show that Venture — and is reportedly considering Under chief executive Nicole Eagan, 53, Scott Gourlay, 43, and Christian more than $1bn after raising $117m from the British tech sector is thriving. a stock market float in New York. sales hit £31m this year. Brady, 44. backers, including Sir Richard Branson. For these restless innovators once is never enough SIMON DAWSON More than a third competitive, fast-moving part Hansford, co-founder and and try to think differently. allows you to reach the next hackers are most likely to of the economy can be found chief executive of cloud For example, should step up,” Richer says. target companies in this of this year’s Tech in this year’s Tech Track 100. services provider UKCloud something be done in-house “But beware hubris,” he sector, with 45% of firms Track 100 were These job creators and (No 22), listed for a second or be outsourced? Should we warns. “Having done it before reporting two or more attacks innovators have managed the year after topping the 2016 do it in the UK or abroad? We is helpful.