Wealth Club backed companies in Deloitte’s Fast 50 2024

Secret Food Tours enters the Deloitte UK Fast 50 this year, ranked seventh – having achieved 6,778% growth over its past four financial years.

The company offers premium, off-the-beaten-track tours and experiences for foodies: from finding where locals eat, to workshops with chefs and artisans, to not-for-the-fainthearted experiences like crocodile-tongue tasting.

Founded in 2013, its first tour began as a pub crawl in London, but soon evolved to meet customers’ interests. Secret Food Tours now hosts 300 freelance tour guides on its platform and helps boost hundreds of small, high-quality, local food and drink businesses in over 70 cities around the world.

How to invest in companies like Secret Food Tours

Secret Food Tours is backed by Pembroke VCT. It is part of Pembroke’s current portfolio – so existing and new shareholders in the VCT should get some exposure. The VCT is open and you can apply online.

Contract Lifetime Management (CLM) software company Summize features in eighth place in this year’s Deloitte UK Fast 50. The company announced in August it had roughly doubled its net Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and worldwide customer base in each of its last four financial years.

Summize helps companies across a range of industries review, create and manage contracts much faster. Its AI-powered CLM solution can be embedded in existing business software – such as Office365, Gmail, Salesforce, DocuSign, Adobe Sign and Jira. This is not to replace lawyers and legal teams, but to make the complex work surrounding contracts less onerous for all.

Summize’s growing list of clients include Revolut, Komatsu, Thought Machine, Fujifilm, Huel, Seat Geek and Everton Football Club, to name a few.

How to invest in companies like Summize

Summize is backed by the Maven VCTs and British Smaller Companies VCTs.

Existing and new shareholders in the Maven VCTs and British Smaller Companies VCTs could get some exposure to Summize, and similar companies. Both VCT offers are open and you can apply online.

Medical booking platform Scan.com ranks 11^th in the 2024 Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50, with revenue growth of 2,769% over the past four full financial years.

Scan.com’s online platform lets patients self-book medical imaging (such as an MRI, CT, ultrasound or mammogram) without needing a GP referral. It aims to enable them to get a scan appointment that’s within a few days rather than weeks.

Patients can compare prices and request what they need in a few clicks, including pre- and post-scan consultations and a fast-tracked report of results. 

Founded in 2017, Scan.com is partnered with a network of healthcare providers – the likes of Nuffield Health, Lyca Health and Alliance Medical – across the UK, Germany and the USA.

How to invest in companies like Scan.com

Scan.com is backed by Triple Point Venture VCT. The company is part of its current portfolio – so existing and new shareholders in the VCT should get some exposure. The VCT is open and you can apply online.

HR software developer Veremark makes its entry for the second year running in the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50. It is ranked 13^th, with revenue growth of 2,718% over the past four financial years.

Founded in 2019, Veremark’s blockchain software automates what has traditionally been a slow and costly manual process. It helps companies perform background checks on potential employees quickly, reliably, compliantly and – crucially – across borders.

Veremark’s clients include global brands such as PepsiCo, McDonald’s and AXA. It also partners with industry-leading platforms, including LinkedIn, to integrate seamlessly into a company’s existing HR and hiring tech.

How to invest in companies like Veremark

Veremark is backed by SFC Capital and Triple Point.

The company is part of Triple Point Venture VCT’s current portfolio, so VCT shareholders – both existing and new – will get some exposure. Triple Point Venture VCT is open and you can apply online.

SFC Capital has invested in Veremark through its EIS and SEIS funds. Experienced investors can get exposure to companies like Veremark (albeit not Veremark itself) by investing in Startup Funding Club SEIS Fund or Startup Funding Club Angel Fund EIS.

Flood forecasting and monitoring platform Previsico has grown revenues 2,714% over the past four financial years – putting it in 14^th place on the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50.

Flooding costs the UK over £1 billion each year. It’s estimated around 20-30% of UK homes and businesses are at risk, and water damage is the second most frequent cause of loss to building projects. Yet, an estimated 70% of commercial flood loss could be mitigated with adequate forewarning and preparation.

Previsico’s award-winning flood intelligence platform helps companies, organisations and authorities predict all types of floods – including ones that often catch people off guard, such as surface water flooding and overburdened drainage systems.

Founded in 2001 as a spinout from Loughborough University, Previsico now has four offices in the UK, US and Hong Kong, and is used by clients across a range of industries worldwide – including insurance, construction, property, transport, fuel, utilities, retail, hospitality, humanitarian and housing.

How to invest in companies like Previsico

Previsico is backed by Foresight Technology VCT – FWT Share Class, which focuses exclusively on early-stage deep tech businesses.

The company is part of its current portfolio – so existing and new shareholders in the VCT should get some exposure. The VCT is open and you can apply online.

Ranked 15^th in this year’s Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 is customer-service conversational AI developer PolyAI, with 2,583% revenue growth over the past four financial years.

PolyAI believes it has created the world’s most lifelike, adaptable and engaging voice AI – able to converse in several languages with customers, even if they interrupt or change topics.

Using PolyAI’s conversational virtual assistants, businesses can take on a greater volume of calls, handled to a high calibre of service and providing excellent customer satisfaction, without adding much overhead.

The Cambridge University spinout was founded in 2017 by three doctoral candidates whose prolific research – and tenures at Apple, Google and Facebook – laid the groundwork for PolyAI’s technology. The company has garnered a list of loyal clients – including Volkswagen, Marriott, Caesar’s Entertainment and Citizens Advice Network Scotland.

How to invest in companies like PolyAI

PolyAI is backed by Amadeus Capital Partners, which has invested in it through its EIS fund.

Experienced investors can get exposure to companies like PolyAI (albeit not PolyAI itself) by investing in the Amadeus Early Stage EIS Fund. The fund is currently closed, but you can register to be alerted when it opens.

Fintech platform Flagstone ranks 42^nd in this year’s Deloitte UK Fast 50, following a 699% growth over its past four financial years.

Award-winning Flagstone is a cash deposit platform through which businesses, organisations, family offices and high net worth individuals can place their cash into accounts offering exclusive and market-leading interest rates, across a choice of 60+ banks. Clients can manage their multiple bank accounts through the single Flagstone portal.

In August 2024, Flagstone announced it was administering £13.5 billion in savings for its clients.

How to invest in companies like Flagstone

Wealth Club investors backed Flagstone – one of our single company investments – in 2022.

In 2024, they were given an early opportunity to partially exit at 1.87x the entry share price, when the company received a £108 million investment from a US private equity investor. Many opted to stay invested in full. Past performance is not a guide to the future.

Experienced investors can get exposure to companies like Flagstone (albeit not Flagstone itself) by investing in Wealth Club’s single company deals.

Brand advocacy platform Duel has made it into the Deloitte UK Fast 50 this year, ranked 43^rd, as it achieved 666% growth over its past four financial years.

A challenger to more expensive advertising and influencer strategies, Duel creates software and mobile apps through which brands and companies can mobilise their own customers to help drive growth and revenue. Customers are rewarded for completing tasks or creating social media content that increase a brand’s exposure – such as sharing a selfie, posting a review, or creating a product tutorial. The more complex the task, the greater the reward.

Duel’s gamified customer advocacy programs are used particularly by fashion and beauty brands – including Coty, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Neom, Jigsaw and Elemis.

How to invest in companies like Duel

Duel is backed by specialist university spinout investor Parkwalk Advisors, which has invested in it through one of its EIS funds.

Experienced investors can get exposure to companies like Duel (albeit not Duel itself) by investing in the Parkwalk Opportunities EIS Fund.

Train travel app Seatfrog ranks 45^th in the 2024 Deloitte UK Fast 50, having grown 662% over the past four financial years.

Launched in 2018, the Seatfrog app lets customers book train journeys, change otherwise-inflexible tickets – and bid for a knockdown-price upgrade to first class, via an eBay-style auction for unsold seats. It aims to save passengers money, whilst improving train operator revenues.

Seatfrog estimates it has saved travellers over £63 million in train fares to date. It now has more than 2.1 million active monthly users, and contracts with every major UK rail company.

How to invest in companies like Seatfrog

Seatfrog is backed by Octopus Ventures, Pembroke Investment Managers and Praetura Ventures.

It is part of Pembroke VCT’s current portfolio, and that of Praetura Growth VCT – so existing and new shareholders should get some exposure. Both VCTs are open and you can apply online.

Praetura Ventures has also invested in Seatfrog through its EIS fund. Experienced investors can get exposure to companies like Seatfrog (albeit not Seatfrog itself) by investing in the Praetura EIS Fund.

In addition, Seatfrog is part of Octopus Titan VCT’s current portfolio.

Smart technology company Switchee is ranked 47^th in this year’s Deloitte UK Fast 50, as it achieved 640% growth over the past four financial years.

Switchee supplies the tenants of over 130 social housing providers across the UK with a smart device that can detect changes in air pressure, humidity and temperature. This data is sent back to the platform’s dashboard to help identify the risk of damp and mould, energy waste and fuel poverty. This way, issues can be proactively attended to, and heating bills lowered.

The device also allows two-way communication between residents and housing providers – for instance, providers can send and receive messages, conduct surveys and schedule appointments.

How to invest in companies like Switchee

Switchee is backed by Octopus Apollo VCT. The company is part of its current portfolio – so existing and new shareholders in the VCT should get some exposure. The VCT is open and you can apply online.