They’re Europe’s fastest-growing companies, generating jobs and sustaining Europe’s competitiveness – and nine of them are Irish.
On Monday, the Financial Times published its FT1000, which lists the 1,000 companies in Europe that have achieved the highest percentage growth in revenues between 2012 and 2015.
Joining the list are nine Irish-based companies, seven of which are based in Dublin. Asavie Ireland, the Dublin-based internet of things (IoT) firm , is the top-ranked Irish company, in 115th place, thanks to staggering revenue growth of some 901 per cent between 2012 and 2015.
The company, founded in 2004, employs 79 people in Dublin, the UK, Germany, Spain and the US. It plans to create more than 100 new jobs on the back of this substantial growth rate.
Next up is Maximum Media (in 250th place), the company behind the websites Joe.ie, Her.ie, HerFamily.ie and SportsJoe.ie. With growth of almost 500 per cent in the period, Maximum Media, which employs 56 people and was founded in 2010, makes most of its money from branded content, sometimes known as native advertising. The Dublin-based publisher, which is in the process of turning itself into a digital-era broadcaster, recently indicated it expects to earn revenues of €6 million in the year to the end of April 2017.
Flotation ambitions
Fenergo, founded in 2009, ranks 258th on the list, on the back of revenue growth of some 482 per cent in the period. The company, which provides software solutions for investment, corporate and private banks, has ambitions to float on the stock exchange by 2020, and said earlier this year that it would grow its employee base to 500.
The other Irish companies on the list are Agile Networks (389); Galway Natural Health Sales (Revive Active) (414); AspiraCon (488); Synergy Security Solutions Ireland (855); Creme Global (860); and Lotus Automation (LotusWorks) (936).
Overall, Europe's fastest-growing company is German start-up Hello Fresh, an international meal delivery service. It was founded in 2011 and has since grown by more than 13,000 per cent. With a similar growth rate is second-placed Codewise, a Polish marketing technology company.
London emerges as the main hub for the companies, with 78 of the companies on the list based in London. Paris is second with 45 companies, followed by Milan with 34 and Berlin with 32.
When it comes to countries, Germany accounts for the most fastest-growing companies (235), followed by the UK (234), Italy (185) and France (140).
