The UK Fast Growth 50
Since 1999, the Fast Growth 50 has been established as the list of business success that entrepreneurs across Wales aspire to join. Starting in 2023, Fast Growth 50 celebrates the fastest growing firms in each nation and region across the UK.
Key information
Profile
Since 1999, the Fast Growth 50 has been working with the top performing fast growth Welsh firms, recognising their achievements and helping them to make a difference to the Welsh economy. Over this period, the firms that have appeared on the annual listings have created tens of thousands of jobs and generated billions of pounds to the Welsh economy, Because of this, the Fast Growth 50 is firmly established as the list of business success that entrepreneurs across Wales aspire to.
Starting in 2023, the Fast Growth 50 will publish a detailed list of fast growing firms in eight nations and regions of the UK namely the East of England, London, the Midlands, North of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, South of England, and Wales. It is estimated that the 400 high growth firms identified through the 2023 Fast Growth 50 will have increased their sales by £4 billion per annum and generated 20,000 new jobs every year.
Recent data from the Scale Up Institute shows that high growth firms are:
- Represented across all sectors of the UK economy
- More productive than other firms with an average turnover of £338,000 per employee
- More innovative with three out of four introducing or improving a product or service in the last three years
- Export-oriented with 60% involved in international trade
- Creating high quality with more satisfied employees
- More diverse with with four in ten having at least one female director
- Providing higher levels of apprenticeships to support young people into employment
Criteria for entry to the awards are:
- Generated £250,000 in turnover in the financial year ending 2019/20
- Generated £1,000,000 in turnover in the financial year ending 2021/22
- Be Independent (not a subsidiary or division of another company)
- Be privately held (with majority of shares owned by founders, investors, employees or family members of the original business)
- Have a trading address within one of the UK regions (the East of England, London, the Midlands, North of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the South of England and Wales)
Please follow the links below for more details about the awards and qualifying companies.
Get in touch
This is where you can enter for the Fast Growth 50 annual awards. The 2023 competition closes on 1 July, the period for entries runs roughly from March to June each year. The entry criteria are also set out here.