Two Scottish businesses feature in Deloitte’s 2024 UK Technology Fast 50 awards

The awards recognise and rank the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK based on average revenue growth over a three-year period, and are sponsored by Citi, Oracle NetSuite and Tipalti.

The 2024 Fast 50 winners have a collective average three-year growth rate of 2,468% and generated total revenues of £1.93bn in 2023/24.

Glasgow-based Utopi Ltd, an ESG technology platform for multi-tenant real estate, placed 18th in the ranking, making it the fastest-growing technology company in Scotland this year, with an average revenue growth of 2,156% over three years.

For the second year running, Utopi Ltd was also among the five businesses recognised in the CleanTech category, which recognises climate technology companies within the Technology Fast 50 ranking for their contribution to the UK’s Net Zero target.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh-based FinTech lending platform, LendingCrowd, claimed 25th place in Deloitte’s ranking, with a growth rate of 1,253% during the three-year period.

Kiren Asad, lead partner for the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 programme, commented: “We continue to see the resilience of the UK’s technology sector, demonstrated clearly from the impressive growth amongst this year’s Fast 50 winners. Amidst challenging economic conditions, these businesses have navigated their way to growth with tenacity, talent, and innovation in what remains a competitive market. I would like to extend my congratulations to all of the winners.”

London leads the way for tech start-ups

Almost three quarters (70%) of the 2024 Fast 50 winners hail from London, including four of the top five, as the UK capital remains the hub for technology start-ups and investment in the UK.

Fintech company Allica Bank returns as the overall winner of the Fast 50 awards, having achieved a three-year growth rate of 13,411% to the year 2023/24. The London-based business, which topped the ranking in 2023 with the competition’s third largest ever growth rate, specialises in banking for small and medium-sized businesses.

In second place is ZOE, a London-based science and nutrition company specialising in personalised nutrition, with a three-year growth rate of 9,533%.

Boost for UK regional start-ups

While the capital remains dominant in the 2024 rankings, regional representation increased on the previous year. Outside of London, this year’s third place winner is Manchester-based UrbanChain with a three-year growth rate of 8,810%. The energy tech business, which offers peer-to-peer energy exchange services, also claims both the CleanTech and Women in Leadership awards for 2024, given the commitments of their female-founder and CEO to green technology.

Other standout performances outside of London include South East-based digital marketing consultancy, Evolution Engineers (10th overall, with a three-year growth rate of 2,975%), and Midlands-based Previsico, a flood forecasting platform (14th overall, with a three-year growth rate of 2,714%).

“While London continues to house the largest share of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies, we continue to see growth across the country in businesses from a variety of sectors and specialties,” added Ms Asad. “It is excellent to see representation from all regions in this year’s rankings, in a sign that the tech sector continues to offer growth and opportunity in every corner of the country.”

Mixed bag of optimism and caution among tech CEOs

In a recent Deloitte survey of CEOs in the UK’s technology sector, one in five (21%) said they are applying cost reduction measures to deal with the changing economic environment. However, over half (52%) said they are not planning any changes, highlighting a mix of caution and optimism among tech business leaders.

Meanwhile, more than half (57%) of respondents said that they intend to raise growth capital within the next three years. In contrast, 16% of respondents stated that they have no intention of raising investment in the near future. Three quarters (78%) of respondents indicated that venture capital investment is their preferred form of investment, with 29% expressing interest in both venture capital and debt financing.

Ms Asad concluded: “The economic headwinds of the last few years have created a challenging environment for many businesses, so it is reassuring that so many tech CEOs are feeling confident in their businesses and strategies. With many looking to raise investment capital in the near future, it is clear that start-ups are optimistic about their growth, albeit with caution.”