Starling Bank and Beauty Pie have topped a list of the fastest-growing UK businesses led by women – while fitness influencer and entrepreneur Grace Beverley has emerged as a rising star, a new report has found. JP Morgan Private Bank found in its annual report that investment in “women-powered” businesses has tripled over the past decade. Digital bank Starling, which was founded by Welsh entrepreneur Anne Boden, took the number one spot in this year’s list of 200 firms after doubling sales in 2023 and rapidly expanding staff across the UK.
Ms Boden stepped down as chief executive of the bank earlier this year, a decision she said will allow her to focus on being a large shareholder. Skincare and beauty retailer Beauty Pie came in at number two, having been launched in 2015 by Soap & Glory founder Marcia Kilgore and securing £126 million in equity investment since, the analysis showed. Digital technology companies were also leading the pack with intelligence firm Quantexa, cybersecurity business Panaseer and artificial intelligence (AI) speech technology firm Speechmatics among those to appear in the top 10.
Tropic Skincare, which is run by Susie Ma – a former contestant on The Apprentice who went on to secure investment from Lord Alan Sugar , was also a top contender, as well as Australian-inspired restaurant chain Daisy Green. The report analysed 14,555 companies in the UK led by women, ranking the top 200 based on growth in sales and headcount. That covered compa.