UK’s Top 100 Fastest-Growing Female-Led Businesses Announced

The latest list of the UK’s 100 fastest-growing businesses led by women, has been announced by E2E and The Independent.

The list is designed to celebrate the businesses that have grown the fastest over the past 3 years, spearheaded by inspirational women.

The list comes after research reveals that the number of women in businesses in the UK is on the rise. In fact, Women-owned businesses contribute an impressive £105 billion to the UK’s Gross Value Added (GVA). Overall, women-owned and women-led businesses now represent about 13.3% of the UK’s total GVA​.

However, according to The Guardian, there are only 10 female FTSE 100 chief executives, making them still highly underrepresented within the UK’s top companies.

The Rise Of Female Run Businesses Globally

Internationally, female-led businesses are also on the up.

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, women’s entrepreneurial activity globally has increased by 10% in the last year alone, with countries like the US and Canada leading the way.

According to Wells Fargo, this could be a great thing for the economy, as women-owned businesses’ growth rate outpaced the rate of men’s from 2019 to 2023, showing the benefits of having companies run by women.

Top 100 Fastest-Growing Female-Led Businesses

Here, we take a look at E2E and The Independent’s top 10 fastest-growing female-led businesses, and what they do:

1. Darina Garland – Ooni Limited

Changing the world of outdoor cooking with portable pizza ovens, Ooni, founded in 2012, has become a well known brand fostering quality and innovation in cooking.

2. Alison Doherty – Sarah Raven’s Kitchen & Garden Limited

Since 1999, this brand has expanded from a humble seed list to a comprehensive range of high-quality gardening products. Known for never compromising on quality, the brand has grown a loyal following of gardening enthusiasts.

3. Fateha Begum – Dare International Ltd

This energy tech company enhances liquidity and transparency in key energy markets with advanced trading and data technology. It has been a key player in driving innovation in the world of energy trading.

4. Cheryl Williams – Yorkshire Wildlife

Focused on conservation and biodiversity of some of the UK’s most endangered animals, Yorkshire Wildlife, established in 2009, plays a big role in environmental education and local sustainability initiatives.

5. Caroline Fox – Twin Training International Limited

Providing English language education and work experience services since 1995, Twin Training is helping more people learn and develop their English language skills.

6. Dr. Angie Ma – Faculty Science Limited

Starting in 2014, Faculty has helped build custom AI solutions to help healthcare providers, retailers, energy providers, and governments unlock and benefit from the power of AI.

7. Katy Wigdahl – Speechmatics

Speechmatics has developed a speech recognition API, allowing it to understand and translate human speech across a wide range of demographics for businesses globally.

8. Esme Bianchi-Barry – Affinity Workforce Solutions Limited

Specialising in recruitment education, Affinity Workforce provides technology-driven staffing for schools, helping them attract and retain the best people.

9. Dominique Kent – Bluecrest Health Screening Limited

Established in 2012, Bluecrest offers affordable and convenient health screenings, focusing on preventive health care. The company has undertaken 560,000 health checks since it was established, making it a leading provider of health checks.

10. Lucy Hutchinson – Mous Products Ltd

Known for creating highly functional and fashionable phone cases, Mous has been creating funky phone cases to help with identity expression since 2014.

Celebrating Female Entrepreneurship

The achievements of these top ten businesses, amongst the other 90 shows the importance and innovation exhibited by female leadership in the UK.

These women are paving the way for future generations, showing that innovation, dedication, and leadership are at the heart of some of the UK’s fastest growing businesses.