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Companies across the continent face an array of hurdles to growth this year, ranging from a lacklustre economic outlook in several countries to the uncertainties caused by Brexit trade negotiations and risks stemming from the global spread of coronavirus.
Yet the ever-greater pace of growth on this annual FT 1000 ranking — now in its fourth year — suggests that the most nimble and innovative companies are thriving.
The FT 1000, compiled with Statista, a research company, lists the European companies that achieved the highest compound annual growth rate in revenue between 2015 and 2018. Competition is even tougher at the top this year, with companies requiring a minimum growth rate of 38.4 per cent to make the list, compared with 37.7 per cent last year.
A full report featuring case studies and analysis from this year’s FT 1000 Europe, will be published here on March 23.
OakNorth Bank, a UK fintech backed by SoftBank’s Vision Fund that specialises in lending to medium-sized businesses, edges Blue Motor Finance off the top spot this year — the British car finance provider now sits in 43rd place. And while 2018’s leader Deliveroo falls out of the latest ranking, Finland’s Wolt is flying the flag for tech-enabled food delivery, in second place.
Only one of the top three companies is among the 268 on the list to have also appeared on 2019’s ranking. A total of 90 companies have ranked in three consecutive years.
The ranking reflects the growing importance of technology, which once again dominates with 189 entrants hailing from the sector. When this is added to the related but discrete categories of fintech and ecommerce, that total climbs to 259.
Most winners come from Germany, closely followed by Italy, the UK and France, with these four nations accounting for about 70 per cent of the overall ranking. London retains its lead as the city with the greatest number of fast-growing companies, followed by Paris and Milan, while Warsaw and Vilnius make the top 10 for the first time.
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