Records break as Deloitte announces the 2017 UK Technology Fast 50 winners

• Deliveroo tops Deloitte’s annual ranking of the UK’s fastest growing technology companies with a four-year revenue growth of 107,117% - a new record;
• The average four-year growth rate recorded for the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 companies is 3,756% in the year 2016/17;
• The Fast 50 companies generated c. £1 billion of combined revenue in 2016/2017, employing more than 9,000 people, including 1,800 in R&D alone;
• 20^th edition of the Fast 50 awards analyses trends across all 662 unique Fast 50 winners.

Deloitte has today announced the winners of the 2017 UK Technology Fast 50 awards. The awards, now in their twentieth year, recognise and rank the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK, based on the last four years of revenue growth. Supporting Deloitte’s initiative for the UK’s fastest growing companies are the award sponsors DLA Piper, Oracle NetSuite and Silicon Valley Bank.

This year’s winner: Deliveroo
Deliveroo has been named the overall winner of the 2017 UK Technology Fast 50 awards. The London-based online food courier service achieved a staggering average growth rate of 107,117 per cent over the last four years. In the twenty-year history of the Fast 50, no other company has ever grown at a faster rate. Bloom & Wild (average growth rate of 13,818 per cent) and MoveGB (6,063 per cent) completed the top three.

David Cobb, lead partner for the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 programme, comments: “The achievements of this year’s winner are truly remarkable: Deliveroo is now the fastest-growing technology company in the history of the competition. Their relentless growth has justifiably added them to the exclusive list of UK ‘unicorns’. Everyone wants a slice of the online takeaway business, but very few have found success in the same way that Deliveroo has.”

Since being founded in 2013, Deliveroo has been disrupting the food takeaway industry by bringing restaurants closer to customers. Deliveroo now operates in over 200 cities worldwide, working with 15,000 riders in the UK. They recently raised $385m in new funding.

Dan Warne, General Manager UK and Ireland, explains Deliveroo’s approach to technology: “We have always had a clear strategy - it has been a food tech company from the start. Technology is very important for us and it allows us to operate more efficiently, which means faster orders for consumers, higher sales for restaurants and more earning potential for riders. It’s win-win for everyone. Our logistics algorithm is key, improving all the time to ensure our fantastic offer gets better and better.”

On being competitive, Warne adds: “The UK is an exceptional breeding ground for ambitious technology companies - and so there will always be competitors. Our focus is always on our customers, riders and restaurants, making sure we’re delivering on the things that matter to them. That’s the best way of remaining competitive.”

Two decades of fast-paced growth, and learning from mistakes
As part of the awards process, Deloitte has analysed information submitted by 147 Technology Fast 50 entrants and surveyed 93 CEOs from these fast-growing companies.

Learning from experience was a recurring theme amongst CEOs. According to the survey, nearly 60 per cent of CEOs had previously founded, or been part of the founding team of another start-up and almost one-fifth of respondents stated that they have built their success on lessons learned from previous failures.

According to the survey, 44 per cent of respondents cited ‘learning from failure’ in the top three most important experiences from starting their own business, following only to ‘the need to attract and retain talent’ (73 per cent) and ‘product testing’ (52 per cent).

When asked for the primary reasons for starting their own business, more than half of CEOs said that there was an opportunity to do better than the market incumbents (57 per cent). 56 per cent of CEOs said that their product or service did not previously exist.

Cobb adds: “The evolution of the UK Technology Fast 50 over the past 20 years demonstrates that there is no single secret formula for success.

“Yet, while much has changed over two decades, many of the characteristics that makes a Fast 50 winner remain. Winners tend to be those that have spotted, and capitalised on, market opportunities for tech-enabled growth in new and existing sectors.

“And when looking across all of the 662 unique winners over the last twenty years, it is easy to see that having a great product or service, knowing your customer and employing excellent staff are the common ingredients to help ensure fast-pace growth.”

Regional picture: London’s calling
The regional make up of this year’s Fast 50 is dominated by representatives from London. In 1998, Scotland was the biggest contributor to the Fast 50, providing 11 companies. However, since the middle of last decade, London-based Fast 50 companies have risen from eight in 2005 to 32 of this year’s Fast 50. Move GB (6,053 per cent) and Coull (1,915 per cent), both from the South West, were the only non-London-based companies to feature in the top ten fastest growing technology companies.

Cobb adds: “The UK capital has some fundamental strengths when it comes to infrastructure, connectivity and access to top talent, which makes it an attractive place for tech start-ups.

“More than a third of tech start-up CEOs highlighted talent as the biggest influence on deciding on the location of their business, reaffirming the importance of having a strong tech hub capable of attracting highly skilled practitioners.”

Software reigns supreme, for now…
For the last two decades, the software sector has provided more winners than any other category, averaging 44 per cent of the Fast 50 over the period. However, whilst software contributed 36 per cent of 2017 Fast 50, the research found that emerging sectors were on the rise, including FinTech (20 per cent), Media & Entertainment and Internet-based companies (both 16%).

Cobb comments: “Software continues to be an important sector for rapid growth, but we are seeing growing proportions of entrants from other technology fields, in part due to the scalability of the business models they typically adopt. FintTech in particular has accelerated over the last five years, and now represents a fifth of the Fast 50.”

In addition, more than two-thirds (70 per cent) of respondents said that revenue growth was a more important objective than profit (30 per cent) over the last few years. However, the research found that as businesses mature, CEOs predict that the focus will shift, with profitability expected to become the more important factor for 60 per cent of businesses over the next five years.

Cobb concluded: “Successful pursuit of growth is an implicit characteristic amongst Fast 50 companies, but this is a far from simple feat. As their growth propels them to scale-up status, CEOs need to find the right balance between growth and profitability, always keeping stakeholder interests in mind.”

End

Notes to editors

Photographs are available on request.

About the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50
About DeloitteThe Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 is one of the UK’s foremost technology award programmes. Now in its twentieth year, it is a ranking of the country’s 50 fastest-growing technology companies, based on revenue growth over the last four years. The UK Fast 50 awards are all about growth driven by leading intellectual property and are a celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship. The UK Technology Fast 50 is part of an international programme run by Deloitte and qualifying entrants of the UK Fast 50 will be put forward to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) programme. Previous winners have come from across the UK, are both large and small, and included some of the most dynamic players in all areas of technology, from internet specialists to biotech, digital media technology to life sciences, computers to semiconductors and software to telecommunications.
For more information visit www.fast50.co.uk

Previous winners of the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 is available at www.fast50.co.uk

Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 eligibility criteria

• The company must have been in business for a minimum of four years;
• The company must be considered a technology company which, for the purposes of the awards, is defined as one that:
• owns proprietary intellectual property or proprietary technology that contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenues;
• manufactures a technology related product;
• devotes a significant proportion of operating revenues to research and development of technology;
• is technology intensive, or uses its own unique technology to solve problems.

NB: Using third party technology or intellectual property in a unique way does not meet this definition. Consulting companies, professional services firms, resellers and others who don't rely on proprietary technologies to generate their revenue are not eligible.

• The parent company must be UK-owned and have its headquarters in the UK;
• NB: Companies headquartered in Northern Ireland can take part in the UK OR Irish programme, but need to choose one or the other and cannot enter both.
• Operating revenues must be at least £42,000 (€50,000) for the first financial year of the four year period and £817,000 (€1,000,000) for the most recent financial year;
• NB: The accounts for the most recent financial year must have an accounting period ending between 1 June 2016 and 31 May 2017.
• All submissions must be accompanied by signed accounts for the first and last financial year being measured in the competition. Unless a statutory exemption is being taken, these accounts must be unabbreviated and audited.

If you have any further questions regarding whether your company qualifies, please contact fast50@deloitte.co.uk

About Deloitte

In this press release references to “Deloitte” are references to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”) a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms.

Deloitte LLP is a subsidiary of Deloitte NWE LLP, which is a member firm of DTTL, and is among the UK's leading professional services firms.

The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.

For more information, please visit www.deloitte.co.uk.

Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.

About DLA Piper
DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help companies with their legal needs anywhere in the world.

Our global technology sector lawyers work across practice areas and offices to support technology clients wherever they do business. From startups to fast growing and mid-market businesses to mature global enterprises, our clients are companies that develop or create technology, are enabled by technology, or whose business model is fundamentally based on technology.

We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality and value to our clients. We achieve this through practical and innovative legal solutions that help our clients succeed. We deliver consistent services across our platform of practices and sectors in all matters we undertake.

Web: DLAPiper.com

Twitter: @DLA_Piper  

LinkedIn: DLA Piper

About Oracle NetSuite

Oracle NetSuite pioneered the Cloud Computing revolution in 1998, establishing the world's first company dedicated to delivering business applications over the internet. Today, it provides a suite of cloud-based financials / Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), HR and omnichannel commerce software that runs the business of companies in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit http://www.netsuite.com.

Follow Oracle NetSuite’s Cloud blog, Facebook page and @NetSuite Twitter handle for real-time updates.

About Silicon Valley Bank

For more than 30 years, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped innovative businesses, enterprises and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides a range of targeted financial services and expertise through its office in the UK. With commercial and international banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of innovators. The UK's leading technology and life science businesses, in all stages of development, look to SVB’s niche expertise, experience and unparalleled network, as they grow at home and tackle new markets abroad. Learn more at svb.com/uk.