Barclays Wealth Management

What does the future hold for #technology? Here’s what will be trending high in the next 5 years.

Starting a business at a later stage in life could bring challenges. Follow our 5 tips on how to make it as a late life entrepreneur to avoid them.

“This a good moment to be going into entrepreneurial work, especially for people towards the end of their career.” - Jane Kellock, founder of Unique Style Platform (USP).

Our Compass report provides a useful overview and analysis of the current investor landscape to help you navigate the calmer waters.

Congratulations to AerFin for coming in at #1 in this year’s Fast Track 100 and to all those companies listed in the Sunday Times league table, well done to you all.

This year's Fast Track 100 companies grew their sales by an average of 65% per year over 3 yrs, from a total of £860m in 2013/14 to £3.9bn in 2016/17.

Over a third of the Fast Track 100 founders - 37%, were 30 or younger when they set up their company.

With 572 high growth companies, the SE ranks second behind London (1,529) and has more than 200 more high growth companies than the next-highest region.

We can reveal that more than half of the Fast Track 100 companies have expanded overseas to boost revenue growth

Northern Ireland boasts a 6.4% share of the UK’s VC-funded companies, ranking above a number of other UK regions: Yorkshire & the Humber (17), South West (16), West Midlands (12), North East (10), North West (9) and East Midlands (3).

With a record high for Fast Track 100, there are 20 female founders on this year’s league table.

Wales has the highest ratio of private equity-backed companies per 1,000 companies of any region in the UK at 0.41 - higher than London (0.38). The number of private equity-backed companies in Wales has increased from 40 (2016) to 50.

The maturity of the entrepreneurial scene in the North West region is highlighted by the high number of companies receiving expansion funding, at 55 (up from 42). Making is second highest across the UK and within arms each of London (66).

Our Entrepreneurs Index finds that M&A activity has increased since 2015, now up to 505 deals with a year-on-year rise - 2011 saw 335 deals.

Combined operating profits are up from £69m three years ago to £398m in 2016/17 for the Fast Track 100 companies.

This year's Fast Track 100 companies have added 14,000 jobs over three years, some as a result of acquisitions - more than tripling their workforce to 19,300.

It is almost that time of year again. The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list will be unveiled on Sunday 3 December. Stay informed as we provide a sneak peak into this year’s statistics and unveil who tops the league table on Sunday.

London continues to lead across the UK and remains strong, accounting for over a quarter of all high growth companies - 1,529 of a total of 4,110.