This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
~rising stars~


£1.4bn 1. Cupid


Turnover: £25.7m (+202%) Pre-tax profits: £4.2m (+325%) Sector: Internet Based: Edinburgh


It’s been a busy 12 months for the online dating business formerly known as Easydate. Beginning with its listing on AIM in June last year, Cupid has undergone impressive international development and achieved its goal of generating more than half of its revenues through overseas growth. A placing in April handed CEO Bill Dobbie an acquisition fund that led to the purchase of two German dating businesses for £2.5 million. This was followed by the acquisition of IndianDating.com, which took Cupid into the vast sub-continent. And its latest deal, for two Brazilian websites, is not only potentially lucrative, but also means Cupid is active in seven core international regions. Dobbie says that Cupid is now butting heads with the big


online dating players. ‘A year ago we were one tenth the size of Meetic (a European dating website merged into Match.com) whereas now we have increased that to one third,’ he adds. A truly impressive venture.


2. PowerPerfector


Turnover: £29.7m (+158%) Pre-tax profits: £8.9m (+197%) Sector: Cleantech Based: London Privately-owned green energy company PowerPerfector is playing a significant role in reducing the UK’s CO2 emissions. Established in 2001, PowerPerfector has developed technology, named voltage power optimisation (VPO), that saves energy, cost and carbon by optimising the incoming electrical supply voltage in commercial buildings. Its main feature is its ability to optimise and improve the voltage for a whole site and therefore cut energy costs. In July this year, the company marked a significant milestone – VPO saved its billionth kilowatt of energy for PowerPerfector’s clients – the equivalent of turning off the power to London for nine days. CEO Angus Robertson comments, ‘The billion barrier outlines the pivotal role that energy efficiency can play in delivering a sustainable power supply in the future. We have saved our clients £85 million in energy spend to date, which in the current financial climate is of great benefit.’ And the company expects to sign up more clients to the technology as the leaner economic times continue.


3. GO Outdoors


Turnover: £75.4m (+83%) Pre-tax profits: £4.2m (+250%) Sector: Retail Based: Yorkshire It seems there is no end to the UK’s growing appetite for outdoor adventure, and Sheffield-based GO Outdoors has capitalised on this increasingly resilient retail space. The outdoor clothing, camping and equipment retailer, which began as the Camping & Caravanning Centre in 1969, has recently opened new stores in Manchester, York and Stoke, and now operates from 30 UK sites. In April this year, private equity investor 3i acquired a significant minority shareholding in GO Outdoors from YFM Equity Partners, which originally backed founders John Graham and Paul Caplan in 1998 when the business had only one shop. YFM retained a partial stake in the business as part of the deal that saw 3i inject £28 million. A month later the business secured an additional £30 million package from Lloyds Banking Group. Chief executive Graham says the business’s ‘unrivalled offering to the market’ has been the key to success. ‘Our strength lies in the fact that we’re able to cater for all levels of outdoor enthusiasts across a number of activities.’ It is now planning to build online retailing.


business xl 31


Combined turnover of all 50 Rising Stars 49.7% Average year-on-year sales growth


Combined profits


£287m 107% Average growth in pre-tax profits


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60