Fashion brands and motion tech feature in Sunday Times 100 countdown

A healthcare services company, a motion tech firm and a sportswear brand are among the fastest-growing private businesses in the country, according to newly published research out today.

West Midlands outfits Clive Henry Group, Moasure and AYBL Group are named on the third annual Sunday Times 100.

The ranking, which is available online and in print on Sunday, identifies and celebrates Britain’s 100 leading entrepreneurial businesses and showcases the people behind the companies.

Birmingham-based Clive Henry Group is placed second overall, making it the highest-placed West Midlands business in the UK countdown.

The city centre firm was founded in 2019 by Liam Molesworth and Sam Alsop-Hall who named the company after their grandfathers.

It now consists of four separate divisions selling services to the NHS, the public sector and the wider health and care industry including agency staff and technology consultancy.

Sales hit £20 million last year, with a 264.5 per cent average annual growth over the last three years.

Also featured in the list are Warwick-based Moasure which has developed motion-based tech which aims to simplify the process of taking difficult measurements such as irregular shapes and elevations.

Ranking in 40th place, the company’s latest revenue was £8.8 million and it has posted 119.7 per cent average annual growth over the last three years.

AYBL Group is a sportswear and fashion company based in Redditch which owns and operates two brands, AYBL and BOA which stands for Because of Alice – a nod to the firm’s founder Alice Olivia Cross.

AYBL Group was set up by brothers Reiss and Kris Edgerton who went to South Bromsgrove High School with Clive Henry Group’s co-founder Liam Molesworth and Gymshark founders Ben Francis and Lewis Morgan.

The latter is also an investor in and executive chairman of the group.

It is placed in 100th spot in the Sunday Times list, with most recent sales of £38.8 million and growth of 61.8 per cent over the past three years.

Other West Midlands businesses featured are Stoke-based educational resources provider Wordunited (35th), Lichfield’s water pipeline and accessories specialist FT Pipeline Systems (49th) and Dudley-based construction contractor BSN (66th).

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

In total, they 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 jobs.

Out of the 100 companies featured, 43 are based in London, 25 have female founders or co-founders and 69 were launched in the last decade.

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 was conducted in partnership with Beauhurst, a source of private company data.