One of the few franchise companies to have been listed three years in a row, A-Star Sports has shot up the ranking by an astonishing 29 places. Its track record now reads: 2012, No. 89; 2013, No. 56; and now, in 2014, No. 27.
A-Star Sports, which has a string of highly successful franchises across the UK, is now celebrating a remarkable hat-trick in the competition for high-potential start-ups and itself a celebration of the best in new British businesses.
Startups 100, only in its fifth year, highlight UK-based and privately owned companies which demonstrate innovation, impressive financials and development potential. Average turnover among the companies is now nudging £1 million.
Sharon Bassett, A-Star Sports’ director of marketing and communications and co-founder, said: "This is a tremendous tribute to a dedicated and highly-motivated team. The last two years have been wonderful, but this recognition is beyond anything we expected.
"Who knows what we can achieve if we continue to climb at this rate. Everyone at A-Star Sports is eagerly looking forward to 2015."
Startups.co.uk’s editorial director Ian Wallis said: "Diverse and utterly brilliant in so many ways, it’s staggering to think the average turnover for the 100 companies in this list is close to £1 million - and very reassuring to know that many are already turning a good profit."
After a stiff competition, this year’s winners join illustrious Startups 100 alumni including Notonthehighstreet.com, Huddle, Naked Wines, and Hailo. Many companies on the list are likely to go on to be major providers of jobs and growth in the future.
Established only in October 2011, A-Star Sports provides multi-sports coaching for children as young as two years old and up to 10 years old.
Its business model is designed to make sport fun and accessible for children, and its peer-reviewed programme includes weekly classes, parties and holiday club places, as well as regular sessions in nurseries, playgroups and schools.
In an interview alongside A-Star Sports managing director and co-founder Gary Bassett for BBC Radio Wales, Ian Wallis added: "Our methodology for the Startups 100 list is based on reality rather than projected future success. We look at hundreds of companies and receive full entries with a lot of detail, where they provide their financials, the company’s background and the year that they started as they have to have started in the last three years. We look at the number of employees they have and where they raised finance. Once we have all that information, we score them.”
Published: 5 June 2014
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