50 company CEOs opened trading in London to celebrate London Stock Exchange’s launch of ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ 2015

Second edition of landmark report launched; backed by the three major UK political parties
Identifies fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in UK
Publication examines opportunities and challenges facing SMEs
50 company CEOs open trading in London celebrating their inclusion

Key 2015 trends identified among the 1,000 companies:

• UK’s digital revolution highlighted with IT the top performing sector – average annual revenue growth (2010-14) of 350 per cent
• 75 per cent of the 1000 firms from outside London
• Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales see 30 per cent rise in number of companies included
• 25 per cent of companies operate in manufacturing, construction and engineering
• UK jobs recovery highlighted with 100 per cent increase in number of recruitment firms included, from 25 to 50
• 147 companies included in list for second time

LONDON, 10-3-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain has received cross-party support from leading politicians including The Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP, The Rt. Hon. Vince Cable MP and Chuka Umunna MP.

Household names that made the 1,000 companies include:

Aspall Cyder, Brewdog, Brompton Bicycles, Cath Kidston, Itsu, Metro Bank, Notonthehighstreet.com, Patisserie Valerie, Plusnet, Rapha Cycling, Sofa.com, Wahaca, Zoopla

Writing in the publication The Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP said: “This is a remarkable list of outstanding companies. These businesses have been built by the drive, commitment and vision of Britain’s entrepreneurs and business leaders. It is my privilege to be able to congratulate them all, and to thank London Stock Exchange Group for its work.”

Launching the report, Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “These 1,000 exemplary businesses show how SMEs punch above their weight – more than doubling their revenue over the past four years to deliver growth and create jobs across the UK. The Government is backing innovative and ambitious companies like these to grow and export their products all over the world and I wish them continued success for the future. Access to finance is an important enabler to growth and the British Business Bank that the Government has set up is playing a particularly important role in helping to ensure finance markets work more effectively for smaller businesses.”

Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive, London Stock Exchange Group said: “This report is a significant part of London Stock Exchange’s broader campaign to support UK high growth companies in their journeys from Start-up to Stardom and to create an entrepreneurship revolution. I’m delighted that a strong alliance between UK Government, financial market participants, investors, entrepreneurs and companies has been created to support these inspiring businesses.”

A full searchable database of all of the companies along with a downloadable pdf of the publication can be found online at www.1000companies.com
The report in numbers:

The research paints a vibrant picture of the British economy, as well as dispelling certain myths. A 100 per cent rise in the number of recruiters, from 25 to 50, shows the UK’s economic recovery is based on job creation. More than 25 per cent of the companies are from the manufacturing, construction and engineering sectors. And fast-growing companies are appearing in all regions of the UK, with over 75 per cent being headquartered outside London. IT appears to be one of the fastest growing sectors in Britain with an average annual growth rate of 350 per cent for IT firms included in this year’s list.

Stand-out cities and regions
• 235 companies from Greater London
• 140 from the South East
• 98 from East of England
• 88 from the West Midlands
• 86 from the North West
• 76 from Scotland
• 75 from Yorkshire & The Humber
• 32 from Greater Manchester
• 29 from Essex
• 23 from Aberdeenshire

Sector performance
• Average annual growth of IT sector, 350 per cent
• Average annual growth of retail sector, 250 per cent
• 123 manufacturing companies included
• 87 construction firms included
• 63 companies from the food & beverage sector
The report was supported by Lloyds Banking Group, Business Growth Fund and Cenkos Securities plc.

Further support and contributions from leading business bodies in the UK include British Bankers Association, British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, Confederation of British Industry, Institute of Directors, Quoted Companies Alliance, Tech City and UK Trade and Investment and City & Guilds.

Tim Hinton, Managing Director, Mid Markets and SME Banking, Lloyds Bank: “Small and mid-sized businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy. The importance of SMEs to the recovery is in creating jobs and helping the country to diversify. We are therefore delighted to be partners with London Stock Exchange in celebrating the UK’s 1,000 fastest-growing and most successful businesses. It’s a perfect fit for us, working with another organisation with which we share common goals.”

Stephen Welton, CEO, Business Growth Fund: “Whilst this is only the second year of publication we know already from the huge reaction to the inaugural edition that appearing in 1000 Companies is set to become a critical milestone for all ambitious and successful UK companies…and rightly so! It is a fascinating and genuinely inspiring read. The 1000 Companies initiative is particularly exciting for BGF because we were established with a broad mission to help Britain’s growing businesses and entrepreneurial community, and to unlock the potential of fast-growing UK companies that need long-term capital to drive their future success. I congratulate every company that has made it into this year’s publication. The UK’s entrepreneurial spirit is very much alive and kicking.”

Jim Durkin, Chief Executive Officer, Cenkos Securities plc: “We are delighted to be sponsoring this report for the second time. We are excited and encouraged by the diversity, track record and innovation in the companies identified. It creates optimism for the future. Access to capital together with entrepreneurial talent is the most important enabler of growth. Cenkos is committed to bring together capital and enterprise and to play an ongoing role in supporting growth companies to achieve their ambitious goals.”

– Ends –

For further information:

Media
Tom Gilbert
Ed Clark
Alex Ritterman

+44 (0)20 7797 1222
newsroom@lseg.com

Further support:

Joanna Shields, Chair of Tech City UK: “It gives me great satisfaction to see the continued growth of the UK’s digital industry at the centre of this report. ‘1000 Companies to inspire Britain’ includes numerous examples of amazing businesses from all over the country which are creating jobs, economic growth and national prestige. It is particularly pleasing to see the high percentage of companies based outside London, as this drive to create a tech ‘nation’ has been at the heart of this government’s digital strategy. This strategy is clearly working – the UK has the fastest growing economy in the G7 and the digital industry is at the heart of our growth story.”

About the 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain report:

Methodology:
To identify the 1,000 companies, financial technology company DueDil blended P&L performance indicators, balance sheet analysis and credit health checking.

Company status
Companies must be UK-registered and active. Companies whose parent is incorporated in a foreign country are excluded, except for specific tax shelters. Ltd, Plc and LLP entities are all considered. Investment vehicles and funds are excluded, as are charities and non-profit organisations.

Any company with a >20 per cent deterioration in net assets over a three-year period is excluded.

Size and age
Independent company or consolidated group revenues must be between £6m-£250m, based on latest Companies House filings. Companies are excluded that were incorporated within the past three years

Grading
Having identified the longlist of eligible companies, we then separate them into their Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) grouping and compute the average compound annual growth rate % (based on turnover growth) for each SIC sector over a four-year period (four sets of accounts, where four sets of accounts are available). Within each SIC sector, we rank companies by their individual CAGR %, and identify the companies that have most outperformed their sector averages. We weight our calculations to favour latest-year growth. Finally, we exclude the 10% of companies with the lowest credit score.

About London Stock Exchange Group:

London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L) is a diversified international exchange Group that sits at the heart of the world’s financial community. The Group can trace its history back to 1801.

The Group operates a broad range of international equity, bond and derivatives markets, including London Stock Exchange; Borsa Italiana; MTS, Europe’s leading fixed income market; and the pan-European equities platform, Turquoise. Through its markets, the Group offers international business, and investors, unrivalled access to Europe’s capital markets.

Post trade and risk management services are a significant and growing part of the Group’s business operations. LSEG operates CC&G, the Rome headquartered CCP and Monte Titoli, the significant European settlement business, selected as a first wave T2S participant. The Group is also a majority owner of leading multi-asset global CCP, LCH.Clearnet.

The Group offers its customers an extensive range of real-time and reference data products, including SEDOL, UnaVista, Proquote and RNS. FTSE calculates thousands of unique indices that measure and benchmark markets and asset classes in more than 80 countries around the world.

London Stock Exchange Group is also a leading developer of high performance trading platforms and capital markets software. In addition to the Group’s own markets, over 40 other organisations and exchanges around the world use the Group’s MillenniumIT trading, surveillance and post trade technology.

Headquartered in London, United Kingdom with significant operations in Italy, France, North America and Sri Lanka, the Group employs approximately 2,800 people.

Further information on London Stock Exchange Group can be found at www.lseg.com

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