These nine Irish companies are among the fastest-growing European firms

24 Apr 2017

Europe in a coffee cup. Image: Sergey Peterman/Shutterstock

Nine Irish companies have been included in the Financial Times’ annual list of the 1,000 fastest growing companies, including IoT player Asavie.

When it comes to finding out who the movers and shakers of Europe are, the Financial Times’ FT1000 list is usually a good place to start.

The recently revealed list – now published online – ranks the companies that have achieved the highest percentage growth in revenue between 2012 and 2015.

To warrant inclusion on the list, companies must have had a revenue of at least €100,000 in 2012 and a revenue of at least €1.5m in 2015, be a completely independent company, and enjoy internally stimulated growth.

Looking generally at the areas with the greatest numbers of start-ups and SMEs, the list compilers found that, despite the onset of Brexit, London remains a major hub for commerce and innovation, with 78 London-based companies making the list.

Elsewhere in Europe, Paris – with 45 companies – has shown itself to be the second best place for companies to flourish, followed by Milan and Berlin, with 34 and 32, respectively.

Asavie and Maximum Media lead the charge

In total, nine Irish companies managed to make the list, with internet of things (IoT) player Asavie just shy of the top 100, coming in at 115th.

Between 2012 and 2015, the Dublin company experienced revenue growth of 901pc, totalling just over €19m by the end of this period.

In March, the company revealed that it was planning a major expansion into Asia with the opening of its first regional hub in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a point of presence office in Singapore.

The company’s success has been built on its PassBridge platform for industrial IoT, having secured deals with high-profile companies including Dell.

The next Irish company to make the list was Maximum Media, coming in 250th place.

The company has quickly developed its range of news and content sites – such as Joe.ie, Her.ie and Sportsjoe.ie – as well as running a number of podcasts.

Over three years, the company’s revenue grew by 489pc totalling €4.3m by the end of 2015, with the company claiming it has an audience of 3m.

The other seven companies are:

Fenergo

The Irish regtech player announced plans to hire 200 in March, and has been ranked 258th on the list, with revenues of €18.7m – an increase of 482pc.

Agile Networks

Recently merged with PlanNet21, IT services company Agile Networks placed 389th, with revenues of €9.24m, growing by 294pc.

Galway Natural Health Sales

The Galway company’s sales of Revive Active supplements have seen it placed 414th, with revenues of €2.8m – a growth of 275pc.

AspiraCon

Dublin-based IT services company AspiraCon has been ranked 488th in Europe, with revenues of €4.2m, up 221pc over three years.

Synergy Security Solutions

Security firm Synergy Security Solutions is ranked 855th. Its Dublin headquarters showed revenues of €30.2m – a growth of 92pc.

Creme Global

Dublin-based cloud-based software Creme Global has ranked 860th, with revenues just shy of €2m, growing 91pc over three years.

Lotus Automation

Engineering and technical expert Lotus Automation has achieved 936th place in the list, with revenues of €63.85m. This represents a 73pc growth.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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