Three North East firms among top 100 fastest growing UK founder-led companies

A superfoods firm which scored success on Dragons’ Den has soared into the top 10 of the fastest-growing businesses in the UK.

Rheal Superfoods is one of three North East companies to feature on the list of Britain’s fastest-growing, founder-led private companies which have been revealed in the FEBE Growth 100 2024. The Sunderland business, which has 42 employees, is at number seven on the third annual FEBE list, with a compound annual growth rate of 234.65%, in a top 10 list which also includes drinks and supplements brands Trip and Ancient + Brave, natural cleaning brand Purdy & Figg, and temporary boiler supplier Rapid Energy.

Rheal Superfoods was launched by Sean Ali and Charlotte Bailey in 2017, when they discovered the benefits of natural superfoods after Charlotte was diagnosed with coeliac disease. The Turbine Business Park-based business manufactures superfoods blends, which aim to help support immunity, digestion, skin health, energy and focus, and can be added into smoothies, shakes, salads, yoghurts and drinks.

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The husband-and-wife team braved Dragons’ Den three years ago and sealed investment from two of the millionaire panellists, but instead of continuing with the Dragons’ Den deal, they secured £1m through a Seedrs crowdfunding campaign to help drive expansion. Having launched seven years ago, sales hit £19.8m in 2023 on the back of strong online sales and growing numbers of customers who can now buy Rheal products in more than 1,170 Holland and Barrett, Boots and Tesco stores.

The B Corp company has received over one million lifetime orders and has also planted over 1m trees worldwide through its charity partner, Ecologi.

Mr Ali said: “We’re so happy to make the FEBE Growth 100 list for 2024, following a year of huge growth and brand building for Rheal.”

The other two regional firms to make the list are Middlesbrough based On a Roll Sandwich Company, at number 88, and Newcastle’s property tech firm iamproperty, at number 95.

Founded in 2008 by chef James Stoddart, £30.5m turnover On a Roll Sandwich Company started out in a local bakery in Middlesbrough, and now operates from over 50,000 sq ft across two bases, supplying sandwiches, wraps and protein bowls to health, education, retail, and travel sectors.

Gosforth-based iamproperty, which was launched by managing directors Jamie Cooke and Ben Ridgway in 2009, works with estate agents by providing a range of solutions that help clients tackle challenges such as time, revenues, efficiencies, and risk. Since 2020, the £76.8m turnover company’s team has trebled in size and now employs over 600 people.

Mr Ridgway said: “It’s great to be recognised in the FEBE Growth 100, especially alongside some other brilliant entrepreneur-backed businesses which are going from strength to strength here in the North East. Over the last year, continued growth has seen us welcome more team members across the UK and new estate agents into our network, as well as a new private equity backer in Perwyn, gearing us up for our next phase of growth.

"We also completed on a key acquisition supporting the development of our latest innovation, the iamproperty Marketing Toolkit. With a full suite of next gen solutions already in our ecosystem, we are proactively working on integrating them all together to provide Estate Agents with a core platform where they can manage their whole day, create more opportunities to transact and provide their clients with an unrivalled experience.”

John Maffioli, FEBE co-founder, said: “This list reveals the fastest growing founder-led companies in the UK. The FEBE Growth 100 is where you’ll find some of the most talented entrepreneurs, exciting companies and incredible teams.”