Allica Bank retains spot at top of the Deloitte UK Tech Fast 50 ranking

• For a second year running, online blanking platform Allica Bank has topped Deloitte’s UK Technology Fast 50 awards, a ranking of the UK’s 50 fastest growing technology companies;
• The London-based bank reported a three-year growth rate of 13,411% to the year 2023/24;
• The combined revenue of the Fast 50 companies totalled £1.93 billion in 2023/24, with an average revenue growth of 2,468% over a three-year period.

Deloitte has today announced the winners of the 2024 UK Technology Fast 50 awards. The awards recognise and rank the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK, based on average revenue growth over a three-year period, and are sponsored by Citi, Oracle NetSuite and Tipalti.

The 2024 Fast 50 winners have a collective average three-year growth rate of 2,468%, and generated total revenues of £1.93bn in 2023/24.

Kiren Asad, lead partner for the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 programme, commented: “We continue to see the resilience of the UK’s technology sector, demonstrated clearly from the impressive growth amongst this year’s Fast 50 winners. Amidst challenging economic conditions, these businesses have navigated their way to growth with tenacity, talent, and innovation in what remains a competitive market. I would like to extend my congratulations to all of the winners.”

London leads the way for tech start-ups

Almost three quarters (70%) of the 2024 Fast 50 winners hail from London, including four of the top five, as the UK capital remains the hub for technology start-ups and investment in the UK. 

Fintech company Allica Bank returns as the overall winner of the Fast 50 awards, having achieved a three-year growth rate of 13,411% to the year 2023/24. The London-based business, which topped the ranking in 2023 with the competition’s third largest ever growth rate, specialises in banking for small and medium-sized businesses.

Richard Davies, CEO of Allica Bank said: “Our growth is a result of successfully executing our strategy at pace. We see no one else building a full-service replacement for the high street banks for established SMEs - offering a tech driven mix of current accounts, savings and all types of lending – which gives us a unique position in a segment that makes up a third of the economy. 

“There is no magic secret to our growth – just a clear strategy and continuous work from our talented team. We are not focused on what others are doing, just on building an excellent business that really delivers on our target customers’ needs. If we do that right, we’ll be well positioned for whatever comes next.”

In second place is ZOE, a London-based science and nutrition company specialising in personalised nutrition, with a three-year growth rate of 9,533%. Jonathan Wolf, co-founder and CEO of ZOE, added: "We are delighted to be ranked so highly in the Deloitte Fast 50. This award motivates us to keep innovating and challenging a broken food environment, in our mission to transform the health of millions."

Boost for UK regional start-ups

While the capital remains dominant in the 2024 rankings, regional representation increased on the previous year. Outside of London, this year’s third place winner is Manchester-based UrbanChain with a three-year growth rate of 8,810%. The energy tech business, which offers peer-to-peer energy exchange services, also claims both the CleanTech and Women in Leadership awards for 2024, given the commitments of their female-founder and CEO to green technology.

Other standout performances outside of London include South East-based digital marketing consultancy, Evolution Engineers (10th overall, with a three-year growth rate of 2,975%), and Midlands-based Previsico, a flood forecasting platform (14th overall, with a three-year growth rate of 2,714%). Scotland-based Utopi, an environmental tech company working with property firms, returns to the top-half of the ranking (18th overall, with a three-year growth rate of 2,156%).

“While London continues to house the largest share of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies, we continue to see growth across the country in businesses from a variety of sectors and specialties,” added Asad. “It is excellent to see representation from all regions in this year’s rankings, in a sign that the tech sector continues to offer growth and opportunity in every corner of the country.”

Mixed bag of optimism and caution among tech CEOs

In a recent Deloitte survey of CEOs in the UK’s technology sector, one in five (21%) said they are applying cost reduction measures to deal with the changing economic environment. However, over half (52%) said they are not planning any changes, highlighting a mix of caution and optimism among tech business leaders.

Meanwhile, more than half (57%) of respondents said that they intend to raise growth capital within the next three years. In contrast, 16% of respondents stated that they have no intention of raising investment in the near future. Three quarters (78%) of respondents indicated that venture capital investment is their preferred form of investment, with 29% expressing interest in both venture capital and debt financing. 

Asad concluded: “The economic headwinds of the last few years have created a challenging environment for many businesses, so it is reassuring that so many tech CEOs are feeling confident in their businesses and strategies. With many looking to raise investment capital in the near future, it is clear that start-ups are optimistic about their growth, albeit with caution.”

-Ends-

2024 UK Technology Fast 50 

About the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50

The Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 is one of the UK’s foremost technology award programmes. Now in its 27th year, it is a ranking of the country’s 50 fastest-growing technology companies, based on revenue growth over the last three years. The UK Fast 50 awards are all about growth driven by leading intellectual property and are a celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship. Previous winners have come from across the UK, are both large and small, and included some of the most dynamic players in all areas of technology, from IoT to biotech, digital media technology to life sciences, FinTech to software and clean energy to telecommunications.

For more information visit www.fast50.co.uk

Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 eligibility criteria

The parent company must be UK-owned and have its headquarters in the UK;The company must have base-year (year 1) operating revenues of £42,000 (€50,000) and a current year (year 4) operating revenue of at least £850,000 (€1,000,000).NB: the accounts for the base-year must have an accounting period ending 31 March 2021; and the accounts for the most recent financial year must have an accounting period ending 31 March 2024.

The Fast 50 Women in Leadership category recognises those companies within the Technology Fast 50 that are either led by a female* CEO or have a founding team comprised of at least 50% women. The ranking will still be judged based on percentage revenue growth over the last three years and entry qualifications are the same as the UK Tech Fast 50.* The terms ‘women’ and ‘female’ are taken to include all those who self-identify as women or female and engage with their current colleagues/company as such.

The CleanTech category was launched in 2023 and recognises climate technology companies within the Technology Fast 50 for their contribution to the UK’s net zero target. Eligible companies are those who meet the Fast 50 entry criteria and produce or use technology, tools, products and services which support emission reductions; lead to more circular economies through the recycling, regeneration, and reuse of resources; and promote well-being for people, communities, and nature through sustainable agriculture, clean air and water, resilient communities and cities, and the preservation and regeneration of natural ecosystems.

About CitiCiti

provides global banking solutions to companies that are looking to grow rapidly and expand internationally. With Citi's global network, comprehensive solutions, and industry expertise, Citi helps these businesses succeed across a wide variety of industries and at most stages of their growth.

About Oracle NetSuite

Oracle NetSuite’s cloud business software suite is the top choice of technology companies who understand that the key to unlocking and managing growth is a back office system that can address today’s challenges while providing the critical foundation for future expansion.

Today over 36,000 companies trust NetSuite to run their mission critical business processes from accounting, procurement and HR through to marketing and sales. NetSuite’s track record as the business system of choice for high-growth tech companies is unmatched. NetSuite isn’t just for start-ups, companies of all sizes benefit from its comprehensive, global financial and accounting core that makes international expansion straightforward; improved visibility across the business; and increased efficiency from eliminating manual processes and disparate systems.

About Tipalti

Tipalti is a global finance automation company helping finance teams drive business growth by automating and streamlining accounts payable, mass payments, procurement and employee expenses in one connected suite.

Tipalti takes the complexity, cost and risk out of time-consuming financial workflows, making it easy for finance teams to collaborate with employees and suppliers. Tipalti partners with blue-chip banks and financial institutions such as Citi, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan and Visa, enabling global companies to efficiently and securely pay millions of suppliers across 196 countries, 6 payment methods and 120 currencies. Over 4,000 growth-minded companies globally use Tipalti’s suite of solutions to reduce their manual finance workload by 80% and accelerate close by 25%, all while strengthening financial and spend controls.