Deliveroo rides to victory, winning Deloitte’s UK Fast 50 for the second year in a row

• Deliveroo has topped Deloitte’s ranking of the UK’s 50 fastest growing technology companies, for the second year in a row
• The company is the first in the 21-year history of the Fast 50 to win twice, reporting an average three year growth rate of 15,749% to the year 2017/18
• The Fast 50 companies generated a combined revenue of £1.2bn in 2017/18, employing more than 9,000 people over nine tech subsectors. 

Cambridge based winners include Darktrace (fourth) and Ieso Digital Health (42nd).

This year’s cohort of winners represent companies at the forefront of the sector, with over 9,000 employees across the 50 companies, an inspiring average growth rate of 2,176% and total revenues in 2018 of c.£1.2bn.

Deliveroo secures top spot for a second year

Food courier service Deliveroo is the overall winner of the 2018 UK Technology Fast 50 awards for a second year. Following Deliveroo’s record growth rate achieved in 2017, this year the company boasted impressive results with an average growth rate of 15,749%. Checkout.com (15,548%) and Hostmaker (6,445%) ranked second and third place respectively.

Julian Rae, Technology partner at Deloitte Cambridge commented: “We are now in our third decade of celebrating the country’s fastest-growing technology companies through the UK Fast 50 awards, and the rate of growth continues to impress. The UK start-up scene is in excellent health, with strong access to talent and funding. What impresses me most is the rate of growth, with the time from establishment to ‘unicorn’ status continuing to reduce. I would like to personally congratulate all of the winners and entrants for this year’s awards.

“After a record breaking year last year, Deliveroo has continued to see strong growth and has managed to retain the top spot. This sends a particularly positive message to UK start-ups operating in uncertain times. Through innovative thinking, planning and access to the right talent, entrepreneurial companies like Deliveroo can disrupt the market and quickly find success.”

Dan Warne, Managing Director for Deliveroo UK and Ireland said: “Deliveroo is proud of how far we have come in five years and our position as a British tech success. Growing a company so quickly present a wide range of challenges, but the potential for growth in food delivery market only gets bigger with every passing day.

"Our fast-paced growth highlights the importance of strategy and the continued dedication of our staff in delivering for our riders, restaurants and customers. Companies must always be thinking about new ways to operate and innovate which is why we have expanded into delivery-only kitchens through Deliveroo Editions, led the way in the new concept of virtual brands and ensured our corporate offering through Deliveroo for Business is second to none.”

Diversity and inclusion in the Fast 50

Diversity and inclusion has become a priority across all sectors in recent years, and is now recognised as having clear and tangible links to performance and growth. The Fast 50 have shown commitment to diversity and inclusion, outperforming the wider sector in terms of their diversity ratios. 

As part of the UK Technology Fast 50 programme, Deloitte carried out a survey of over 100 CEO’s at fast growing companies. Of these respondents, half confirmed that more than 40% of their employees identify as female - a significant change from 2015 - where only one third of companies had more than 40% of employees identify as female. These figures compare well to the wider technology sector, where it is estimated that women comprise less than 20% of all employees.

“These results show the nature of many of the Fast 50 entrants, who are ahead of the game in attracting the best talent and ensuring inclusivity.

“A company that takes a diverse and inclusive approach to hiring can access a larger pool of applicants, and these companies attract the best talent from all over the world, which is no doubt a key contributor to their success.”

2018 UK Technology Fast 50

For more information visit www.fast50.co.uk