The UK's 100 smartest small companies revealed

Posted by Dan Martin in Business trends on Mon, 12/09/2011 - 10:00
Smarta 100

Designer light bulbs, a non-spill potty, erotic novels in which the reader stars and a pillow for long-distance lovers are among the 100 businesses awarded the title of Britain's smartest.

The companies are part of the Smarta 100, an awards scheme organised by small business website Smarta.com and telecoms provider O2. 

Among the inspirational entrepreneurs on the list are Camille Johnson, who set up Pink Ribbon Lingerie after her mother's experiences struggling to find attractive mastectomy lingerie and Mark Buschhaus and Stephen Barnes, who used their £20,000 redundancy pay-off from Woolworths to set up toy retailer Toy Barnhaus, now turning over £1.4m from three stores.

According to figures provided by the winners, 45% are female with an overall average age of 33. Revenues total £65m with an average turnover of £692,000.

On average, the victorious companies are three years and two months old. They employ a total of 740 people, with 9% employing a staff of more than 20. They tend to be running lean operations however, with a growing shift to virtual teams and networks of freelancers. More than three quarters employ fewer than 10 people and 68% fewer than five.
 
Dragons' Den star and Smarta board member Deborah Meaden said: "This year’s Smarta 100 has uncovered some superb small businesses, many of which I'll admit I’d never heard of but have enjoyed discovering and am very much looking forward to meeting.
 
"What pleases me is that these awards are championing passionate and ambitious people with brilliant ideas who’ve acted on those ideas and turned them into flourishing businesses. These small businesses and individuals are hugely important and deserve our recognition and support."
 
Simon Devonshire, SMB general manager for O2, added: "The final shortlist is testimony to the dynamism, variety and inventiveness of businesses that are operating and flourishing in the UK. The awards provide a valuable platform for businesses to showcase their success and will hopefully act as a springboard for further growth."
 
The overall winner of the Smarta 100, who will receive £10,000, will be decided by public voting on the Smarta website until 20 September.

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