The report shines a light on the UK’s most vibrant companies and highlights the growing importance of SMEs to the future of the UK economy. Companies are ranked based on positive growth revenue over the last four years as well as increase in employee numbers, workspace, contract wins and patent filings.
Darren Boyce, CEO, Proximity Communications plc commented: “This is a great achievement for the whole team here at Proximity. Being recognised by the London Stock Exchange as one of the UK’s most inspirational companies is testimony to all their hard work, dedication and commitment over the last few years. It is our people, our business vision, planning, and execution, combined with great industry relationships and a loyal customer base, that have been key to the latest phase of business growth and development. This allowed Proximity to invest in the future when market conditions were dictating a more conservative approach. It is this continued investment and belief that has led this accolade.”
Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive, London Stock Exchange Group said: “The UK has some of the most inspiring growth businesses in the world. Our report showcases some of these fast-growing and dynamic companies; the type of companies we believe will help fuel the long-term growth of the UK economy. Working with the Government and the wider financial community, we need to foster an ecosystem that promotes the right type of funding for businesses at each stage of their journey, so that together, we can drive our own prosperity.
“The term SME describes a very broad church of businesses, from the high-street greengrocer to the high-tech manufacturer and exporter. Within this group of more than 4.5 million UK companies there is an exciting subset of fast-growing, dynamic businesses. These "gazelle" companies, as the CBI calls them, or the "vital six per cent", as think-tank Nesta describes them, are of exceptional importance to UK economic growth and job creation.”
The report was compiled and audited by Growth Intelligence, a UK software company specialising in monitoring the real-time data footprint of UK companies. To be considered for inclusion in the report, companies had to meet a range of criteria. These included being UK based, having a turnover of between £6-250 million in the last 12 months and a minimum of three years in operation. Companies had to demonstrate not only a positive growth in revenue over the last four years, but also an increase in employee numbers, workspace, contract wins or patent filings.