Oak Furniture Land has been recognised in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 for the third time. The company was ranked 51st in this year's annual league table, following its No 19 placement on the Profit Fast Track in April.
The Fast Track 100, now in its 17th year, ranks Britain's private companies, run by entrepreneurs, with the fastest-growing sales. The 100 companies in this year's list grew their sales over the last three years by an average of 81% a year, to a total of £3.2b. The typical Profit Track 100 company has an average three-year profit growth, ranging from 40% pa to 200% pa, and profits ranging from £3-35m.
Originally starting out as eBay UK's largest retailer by turnover in 2006, Oak Furniture Land first appeared in the Fast Track league table in 2010 at number 34 – the year that the business expanded from an online model to open its first two stores in Cheltenham and Gloucester. That year, the company also reported year-on-year growth of over 40% and an annual sales increase from around £2.7m a year in 2006 to over £35m in 2010.??
In 2011, when listed for the second time, the company opened a further 10 stores in prime locations across the UK and moved its distribution centre to a 200,000ft2 premises in Swindon to meet demand.
This year saw Oak Furniture Land open a store a month in retail parks across the country, now reaching 50 stand-alone stores, and the business now employs 800 staff. In January, it reported record sales of £85m and again moved its distribution centre, this time to a new 500,000ft2 state-of-the-art facility.
Jason Bannister, founder and MD of Oak Furniture Land, says: "We've had a great run in the past three years and we are proud to see that recognised by the Fast Track league table, alongside many other inspiring companies. It is a fantastic achievement for us to have met our target of 50 stores by the end of this year, and with our ambition to have a store in every major town or city, we are well on our way to getting there."
Companies selling consumer goods made a strong showing on the 2013 league table, with 19 firms operating in this sector. Other prominent industries include recruitment (17), food and drink (12) and business services (12).
