Two Cambridgeshire businesses named as Britain's fastest-growing by Sunday Times

Annette Belcher
·3-min read
Cycle Pharmaceuticals is one of the businesses on the list
-Credit: (Image: Google)


Two businesses in Cambridgeshire have featured on this year's Sunday Times Britain’s fastest-growing businesses list. Pharmaceuticals developer, Cycle Pharmaceuticals, and online fashion retailer Mauvais, have both made the list of 100 companies that are the fastest growing in Britain.

The third annual Sunday Times 100 rankings, published on Friday, June 28, identifies and celebrates Britain’s 100 leading entrepreneurial businesses, and showcases the people behind these most dynamic private companies.

The research for The Sunday Times 100 found on average the top 100 fastest-growing companies have increased their sales by 118 per cent a year over the last three years to a combined £2.9 billion in sales.

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Cycle Pharmaceuticals' came in at number 74 on the list. The company's annual sales growth over three years is 76.29 per cent, with latest sales reaching £87.7 million.

The annual sales growth over three years for Mauvais is 69.9 per cent. Their latest sales have reached £7.5 million. The company came in at number 82 on the Sunday Times list.

In total these companies employ 13,670 people, having created 10,000 new jobs in the last three years, with 99 of them planning further hires in the next 12 months - equating to around 3,800 additional roles. Out of the 100 companies featured in the ranking nearly half (43) are based in London, with the rest spread through-out the country. This includes 12 in the Midlands, 11 in the southeast, and 10 in the northwest of England.

And 25 of the businesses have female founders or co-founders, this includes Kate Prince, 51, of health supplement brand Ancient + Brave (No 5), whose fans include sportswoman Dame Kelly Holmes and popstar Ellie Goulding and which generated sales of £10.2 million in the last year.

More than two thirds of the companies (69) were founded in the last decade – in 2014 or after. The oldest company on the list is Leeds-based power transformer manufacturer Wilson Power Solutions (No 99). It was set up in 1946 by Richard Wilson to provide flameproof equipment, pumps and motors. His children Colin and Dennis built the business into one of the largest suppliers of refurbished transformers and switchgear to industry, and it is now led by Erika Wilson, 45, apprentice-turned-managing director.

A total of 40 of the fastest-growing companies have received external investment, raising a combined total of £1 billion through 125 rounds of fundraising. This includes Castore (No 34), with the founding brothers Tom, 34, and Phil Beahon, 31, have attracted investors including the tennis star Andy Murray and US investment bank Raine Group, which led a £145 million investment in Castore in December 2023 for a near-£1 billion valuation.

Nearly two thirds of the companies (63) trade internationally, including Heroes (No 8). Founded by three brothers in 2020 to buy up companies selling through Amazon marketplace, focusing on baby and youth consumer products. They have since raised more than £200 million from investors, and generated 70 per cent of its £82.2 million sales overseas last year.

Jim Armitage, business editor of The Sunday Times said: "Our politicians talk about how they will deliver economic growth, but it is the graft of entrepreneurs, such as those featured on this year's Sunday Times 100, who achieve it. Their remarkable resilience in difficult economic conditions shows what is possible with vision and hard work."

The research for the Sunday Times 100 was conducted by the publication's business reporters, in partnership with Beauhurst, a source of private company data. As well as a dedicated online hub and print supplements, The Sunday Times 100 also hosts a series of networking events for participants.

The Sunday Times 100 forms part of The Times Enterprise Network, a cross-platform network staffed by reporters from The Times and The Sunday Times, which was launched in 2021 to provide advice, inspire and inform established business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs.

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