The Sunday Times reveals Britain’s 100 fastest-growing private companies

Goalhanger, a media producer best known for its The Rest of… podcasts and based in London, is Britain’s fastest-growing private company, according to the fifth annual Sunday Times 100 rankings.

The list is published today online at thesundaytimes.com/100 and available as a supplement with the print edition of the newspaper this Sunday 7th June.

The annual ranking identifies and celebrates Britain’s 100 leading entrepreneurial businesses, and showcases the people behind these most dynamic private companies. The Sunday Times 100 excludes companies selling their own technology, which now feature in the sister table, The Sunday Times 100 Tech.

Goalhanger made £37.9 million in sales in 2025, a staggering 321.25% average annual growth in the last three years. This year Goalhanger expects to entertain one billion people with their long-form audio and video show, which includes The Rest is Politics, The Rest is Football and an unlikely successfully niche history podcast, WW2 podcast: We Have Ways of Making You Talk.

It was founded by Tony Pastor, former ITV sport controller, with Jack Davenport, an audio producer, as well as former England footballer Gary Lineker. Together they own a large majority stake in the business.  It employs 80 people at its headquarters in London.

Despite their track record, launching the business was not straightforward as the UK market for podcasts was tiny at the time. Pastor told The Sunday Times; “We were forced to think much more entrepreneurially about how we could build the business. With our first podcast we had ads, host read partnerships, and then a membership scheme for fans to join, a live festival and then started selling T-shirts. We built it out iteratively.”

The research for The Sunday Times 100 found on average the top 100 fastest-growing companies have increased their sales by 108% a year over the last three years to a combined £4 billion in sales. This figure is up by £600 million in the last year, with the 2025 cohort of top 100 fastest growing companies achieving £3.4 billion in sales.

In total these companies employ 13,700 people, having created 8,900 new jobs in the last three years, with almost all of them planning further hires in the next 12 months - equating to around 4,200 additional roles.

Out of the 100 companies featured in the ranking 45 are based in London, with the rest spread through-out the country. This includes 14 in the northwest, 10 in the southeast, 8 each in the east of England and the Midlands, 5 in Yorkshire and the Humber, 4 in Wales, 3 in the southwest, 2 in Scotland and 1 in the northeast.

A record number 33 of the businesses have female founders, co-founders or chief executives: they include Michelle Laithwaite of FuelHub and Megan Rossi of Bio&Me.

Nearly three-quarters of the companies (72) were founded in the last decade – in 2015 or after. The oldest company on the list is Leeds-based Wilson Power Solutions. This third-generation manufacturer began life in 1946, when its founder, Richard Wilson, started selling flameproof equipment, pumps and motors. It is now led by Erika Wilson, 47, apprentice-turned-managing director. The company makes transformers — crucial components of the power grid that increase and decrease voltage. The group has also expanded overseas, with a factory in Chennai, India, and a transformer rental power business in Dubai.

The youngest companies on the list were founded in 2022, including the top company Goalhanger, beauty brand REHAB, and construction contractor City Grey.

Approximately half of the companies on the list trade internationally, including Ancient & Brave (No 7). The health supplements brand has expanded into markets including Germany, Spain and the US. Sales reached £53.7 million in the last year. 

Jon Yeomans, business editor of The Sunday Times, said: "Celebrating five years of The Sunday Times 100 shows the amazing variety of British businesses, led this year by the media producer Goalhanger taking the number one spot. The biggest trend over the last five years is the rise of consumer brands, with food, drink, fashion, and beauty companies now making up nearly half the list. 

Several businesses who have featured in the past, such as Huel and Applied Nutrition, have continued to grow and find huge success, from launching on the stock market to being bought out by global giants." 

Mohammad Kamal Syed, Head of Private Bank and Wealth Management UK and Crown Dependencies, said: “Britain’s fastest-growing private companies are built by founders with ambition, resilience, and a clear vision for the future. As founders scale, achieving the right outcome is about more than value - it’s about securing the long-term success of the business and its people.

At Barclays, we understand that no two journeys are the same. By bringing together expertise across Private Banking, Corporate Banking and Investment Banking, we provide founders with deep, real-time insight and tailored support as they navigate growth, investment and succession decisions.

Our continued support for The Sunday Times 100 reflects our commitment to backing Britain’s entrepreneurial businesses at every stage of their growth and celebrating the innovation and impact that they bring to the UK economy.”

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

To be included on the list companies have to be registered in the UK and be independent, unquoted and ultimate holding companies. Sales growth is measured by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the latest three financial years. Annualised sales have to exceed £250,000 in the base year and not show a drop from the penultimate to the latest year, in which total sales must exceed £5 million. The companies also need to make a profit in their latest year of trading.

The Sunday Times 100 forms part of The Times Entrepreneurs 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.