Northern Tech 100

Top tech companies of the North, as selected by GP Bullhound and TechNorth, and celebrated at NorthernTechAwards run by GP Bullhound, and founded by Manoj Ranaweera and Techcelerate in 2011
About manojranaweera

Founder of UnifiedVU and Venture 9. Previously Founder and CEO of edocr.com

Help companies with digital and business transformation via process optimisation and system design, especially in the areas of bringing everything together for increased productivity and revenue growth.
company SOFTWARE Enterprise SOFTWARE service include business
Top tech companies of the North, as selected by GP Bullhound and TechNorth, and celebrated at NorthernTechAwards run by GP Bullhound, and founded by Manoj Ranaweera and Techcelerate in 2011
About manojranaweera

company SOFTWARE Enterprise SOFTWARE service include business
<p>NORTHERN TECH 100
T H E  N O R T H ’ S  F A S T E S T  G R O W I N G  T E C H  C O M P A N I E S
That was back in 2014. Within weeks 
of starting out in the store cupboard, 
developing a test and trial proposition 
with the company’s now tech director 
James Branton, and switching on their 
pay-per-click advertising, 
the 
leads 
started rolling in.
He quickly realised that convenience 
was going to be their USP and set about 
capitalising on it. “We looked at how 
convenient the selling process was for 
sellers at that time and decided we 
could take that to a new level. Rather 
than getting customers to drive their car 
hundreds of miles, we could collect it from 
their doorstep. Rather than make them 
wait three days for payment, we’d pay 
them immediately with an online transfer.” 
Of course, an easy sale might sacrifice 
some of the money you could make but 
that's just part of the business, Marley 
says. “That’s the market we operate in. 
It’s not about getting the highest sale 
price possible for your car, but it’s more 
convenient through us, and everybody 
knows that – we all know where we stand 
in the market.”
The thing that powers all this for the end 
user is the tech the Car Buying Group has 
developed. Getting that right was their 
number one priority before going live with 
the online platform. “Our biggest asset, 
our IP if you like, is the valuations engine 
we’ve developed. It’s a living, breathing 
organism, constantly interrogating data, 
pricing and what we’re buying.”  
Continued on page 3...
The Car Buying Group 
might be one of the 
youngest companies 
on the Northern Tech 
100 league table, but 
it’s also the fastest 
growing. 
VICKI SHIEL
A store cupboard in Bradford surrounded 
by toilet rolls might not seem like a fitting 
environment for a promising young 
startup. But that’s where The Car Buying 
Group began operating in 2014. 
“It really was a startup story,” says 
managing director Tom Marley. 
“I 
remortgaged my house, my parents 
remortgaged theirs — the lot.” 
The 
idea came from spotting an 
opportunity in the online space for car 
sales. Tom and a few friends discussed a 
large deal that had recently taken place 
between We Buy Any Car and British Car 
Auctions and realised there seemed to be 
plenty of room in the market.
“We looked at that deal, knew that online 
car purchasing was still in its infancy, that 
there was only one big monopoly player, 
and that they were only taking up between 
5% and 10% of the marketplace, so it was 
ripe for someone to come in and give 
them a run for their money. We realised 
we could probably make a nuisance of 
ourselves,” he explains.
2. TVSQUARED
In 2012 Calum Smeaton, the former CEO 
of data analytics firm Sumerian, founded 
TVSquared 
to bring 
state-of-the-art 
analytical capabilities to TV advertising. 
Now more than 360 brands, agencies 
and networks across 48 countries use 
TVSquared to measure and optimise TV. 
The company has helped organisations 
improve TV efficiency between 20% and 
80% by determining the effectiveness of a 
single spot, improving the performance of 
on-air campaigns and optimising media 
spend. Headquartered 
in Edinburgh, 
TVSquared has opened offices in London, 
New York and Los Angeles.
3. THELADBIBLE GROUP
Founded in 2012 by Solly Solomou and 
Arian Kalantari, TheLADbible Group is 
redefining entertainment and news for a 
social generation. Based in Manchester’s 
Northern Quarter, their flagship brand 
TheLADbible Group is followed by half of all 
UK men aged 18-24, and a fifth of women in 
the same age group. 
Their 
brands 
include 
TheLADbible 
Group, SPORTbible, Pretty 52, branded 
content agency Joyride and licensing arm 
CONTENTbible. In the past five years, their 
team has grown to just over 140 people, 
with a second office in Shoreditch. 
T E C H N O R T H
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Produced by: 
In association with:
THE CAR  
BUYING GROUP
1.
T E C H N O R T H 
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THE CAR BUYING GROUP
TVSQUARED
THELADBIBLE GROUP
DOUBLE ELEVEN 
TRAK GLOBAL GROUP 
PURPLE WIFI 
PROFILE FINANCIAL
ACCESSPAY
ZEROLIGHT
CONTROL F1
HEDGEHOG LAB
BIGCHANGE APPS
HYPERDRIVE INNOVATION
PIMORONI
TYRES ON THE DRIVE 
RESDIARY.COM 
3SQUARED 
REDU GROUP 
RRADAR 
CLOUD TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
INVENTRY
CURRENTBODY.COM 
TRIBEPAD 
GIACOM WORLD NETWORKS
PERFORMANCE HORIZON
DEGREE 53
EVOLUTION FUNDING 
LPW TECHNOLOGY
AZZURE IT
SHIELD SAFETY GROUP
GODEL TECHNOLOGIES EUROPE
THE FLOOW 
BEDE GAMING
PANINTELLIGENCE 
INTECHNICA 
TELCOM NETWORKS 
ENGAGE INTERACTIVE 
REASON DIGITAL
INTERACT
HIRING HUB
THE HUT GROUP 
ZUTO
SKY BETTING AND GAMING
MPD GROUP
TEAM17
RESULTING
CONNEXIN
EVOKE CREATIVE
PARALLAX
UTILIGROUP
IMPULSEPAY 
MOBYSOFT
AIRANGEL
METRONET (UK)
ANGEL SOLUTIONS LTD
MANDO
CHESS
MTECH IT SOLUTIONS
CONTRACTHIREANDLEASING.COM
ADVANCERY 
SUMO DIGITAL
AMPERSAND COMMERCE
OPENCAST SOFTWARE EUROPE
ASPIRE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
FAT MEDIA
SAFEGUARD 
ELEMENTARY TECHNOLOGY
PINK BOUTIQUE
MOBICA
TPP
APADMI
EBECS
SYKES COTTAGES
BETTER2KNOW
PROVU COMMUNICATIONS
THE ESP GROUP
WMG
C365CLOUD 
VAIONI
EVERYTHING DIFFERENT
VENN DIGITAL
OPENCRM
FRESH GENERATION UK
PURE TECHNOLOGY GROUP 
VISUALSOFT
RESPONSETAP
UKFAST
PARCEL2GO.COM
UNIFORM
WAX DIGITAL 
NITESITE 
SIMPLEUSABILITY
SONOCENT 
BLUE LOGIC
DELETE AGENCY
AXON
CONTEXT PUBLIC RELATIONS
4040 MEDIA 
YOOMEE
INVOSYS
Ecommerce
Enterprise Software
Digital Media
Betting & Gaming
Telecoms Services
Enterprise Software
Fintech
Fintech
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
Hardware
Ecommerce
Ecommerce
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
IT Services
Enterprise Software
Ecommerce
Enterprise Software
IT Services
Enterprise Software
Digital Media
Fintech
Hardware
IT Services
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
Hardware
Betting & Gaming
IT Services
IT Services
Telecoms Services
Digital Media
Digital Media
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
Ecommerce
Fintech
Betting & Gaming
Enterprise Software
Betting & Gaming
IT Services
Telecoms Services
Digital Media
Digital Media
Enterprise Software
Fintech
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
Telecoms Services
Digital Media
Digital Media
Telecoms Services
IT Services
Ecommerce
IT Services
Betting & Gaming
Digital Media
IT Services
IT Services
Digital Media
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
Ecommerce
IT Services
Enterprise Software
Enterprise Software
IT Services
Ecommerce
Ecommerce
Telecoms Services
Enterprise Software
Digital Media
Enterprise Software
Telecoms Services
Digital Media
Digital Media
Enterprise Software
Digital Media
IT Services
Digital Media
Enterprise Software
IT Services
Enterprise Software
Digital Media
Fintech
Hardware
IT Services
Enterprise Software
IT Services
Digital Media
IT Services
Digital Media
Digital Media
Digital Media
Telecoms Services
Wakefield
Edinburgh
Manchester
Middlesbrough
Crewe
Oldham
Preston
Manchester
Newcastle
Huddersfield
Newcastle
Leeds
Sunderland
Sheffield
Holmes Chapel
Glasgow
Sheffield
Seaham
Hessle
Manchester
Leeds
Cheadle
Sheffield
Hull
Newcastle
Manchester
Chesterfield
Runcorn
Sheffield
Manchester
Manchester
Sheffield
Newcastle
Leeds
Manchester
Manchester
Leeds
Manchester
Altrincham
Manchester
Northwich
Macclesfield
Leeds
Manchester
Wakefield
Warrington
Hull
Bromborough
Leeds
Chorley
Jesmond
Manchester
Warrington
Manchester
Liverpool
Liverpool
Alderley Edge
Leeds
Hazel Grove
Bingley
Sheffield
Manchester
Newcastle
Gateshead
Lancaster
Sandbach
Leeds
Newcastle
Wilmslow
Leeds
Manchester
Chesterfield
Chester
Lancaster
Huddersfield
Hull
Harrogate
Wakefield
Manchester
Newcastle
Wilmslow
Richmond
Manchester
Leeds
Stockton-on-Tees
Manchester
Manchester
Bolton
Liverpool
Manchester
York
Leeds
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Macclesfield
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Southport
Sheffield
Worsley
UK-wide car buying service with regional offices across the UK
More than 360 brands, agencies and networks across 48 countries use TVSquared
Their flagship brand is followed by half of all UK men aged 18-24
Worked on games for Sony, Microsoft and Warner Brothers
Founded by Nick Corrie; an economics graduate, former RAF officer and experienced businessman
Allows businesses to monitor their physical spaces and promote their brand
Improved retirement prospects for over 12,000 customers so far
In 2016, they were awarded £1m funding from Barclays
Clients include Audi AG, Pagani Automobili, VW and Toyota Motor Europe
Clients include Globavista, Johnson & Johnson, the NHS and Risk Technology
Offices in London, Boston, Austin, Copenhagen and Hyderabad
They have 15,000 paid subscribers serving over 600 SMEs and enterprise customers
Designed the battery technology used in the world's quickest street legal electric car
Pimoroni's first product, Pibow, has now sold over 175,000 units 
Founded in 2011 by Dominic Clark, a former senior manager at Michelin.
Their system processes 2.5M bookings each month.
Won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation
Delivers high volume incremental sales for brands and retailers
Trains and advises its clients to help them avoid risks
Deliver tailored digital transformations to organisations in 47 countries
The market leader for site access and visitor management products, trusted by over 3,000 schools
Partners with leading brands in the market, including L'Oreal and Unilever
Their software is currently used in over 120 countries 
Provides over 4,000 IT professionals and resellers with access to cloud services
Based in Newcastle, with offices in the U.S.A., Japan and Australia
Based at The Sharp Project in Manchester; a creative digital business hub
Provides market-leading motor finance products to consumers 
Uses its leading 3D printing software to develop and supply metal powders
Sells and deploys Microsoft business software products to support SME's 
The No. 1 provider of Food, Fire and Health & Safety services and software 
Employs over 300 people; more than half of their management team are female
Operates globally from Sheffield, helping make vehicles safer and cheaper for all
Process over 200 million transactions per month
The only Sage certified BI solution for Sage 200 and Sage CRM
Its co-founders implemented and optimised the system that sold tickets for Glastonbury 2005
Clients include Cirque du Soleil, the NHS, LADbible, Allied London and Uber
Works with Northern household names including Yorkshire Tea, Jet2 and Leeds Building Society
Works with the UK's biggest charities, social enterprises and corporate responsibility departments
Headquartered near Manchester, Interact has offices in New York, San Francisco and Sydney.
Hiring Hub's clients include Morrisons, Capita, Nisa, Iceland and Ascribe.
The Hut Group serve over 400 million website visitors annually.
Zuto currently employ over 300 people, affectionately known as 'Zutonites'.
Sky Betting & Gaming has offices in Leeds, Sheffield, London and Rome.
Manchester-based MPD Group has secured £6.5 million in funding since 2013.
In 2016 they secured a £16.5million investment from LDC 
Strategic suppliers to a number of large consulting firms
Founded and is currently led by Furqan Alamgir, an Imperial College graduate
Staff numbers have almost doubled over the past 18 months
Clients include British Airways, Nespresso, Hisense, American Express, Kerry Foods and easyGym
Market leading provider of SaaS software to the utilities and energy industry
Clients include SpareRoom, Cross Country Trains, 192.com and Virgin Trains
Help over 70 housing organisations maximise income, create efficiencies and mitigate welfare reform
Airangel's products cover nearly 100,000 rooms or units in twenty-seven countries.
The business operates from Manchester, UK and Bucharest, Romania.
In 2012 their Liverpool-based office underwent a circus-themed refurbishment.
Customers include Transport for London, TalkTalk, Thomas Cook Group and Warburtons
In 2016 awarded 2nd place in 'The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work for'.
Their customers include the Leeds Rhinos, Summer Boarding Courses and Springfield Care Homes.
Employees enjoy free Nespresso coffee machines, regular fruit deliveries and a car allowance scheme.
Clients include Safestyle UK and leading milk logistics company, SJ Bargh.
Studios in Leeds, Nottingham and Pune, India.
Their clients include Harvey Nichols, Poundland and Bensons for Beds.
Their clients include HM Revenue & Customs, Betfair, Barclays, Catapult, Sage and the NHS.
Since 2013, the company has grown their workforce from 40 to over 100 employees.
Founded in Lancaster, the company has opened two more offices in Bristol and London
Caters to companies of all sizes in mature and emerging international markets.
An audio visual and interactive technology reseller working in education and enterprise marketplaces.
Pink Boutique ship between 2000 - 4000 items of glam clothing worldwide each day.
Based in Wilmslow, Mobica has eleven R&D locations around the world.
Their software has supported NHS services for nearly twenty years.
Develops applications for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry devices.
Works with sectors including finance, insurance, manufacturing, distribution, retail and not-for-profit
Provide a cottage booking and management service to over 8,000 cottages in the UK and Ireland
Helped thousands of people around the world get health-tested discreetly and quickly
The principal distributors for many leading brands of IP phones
Assists major transport operators, local and metropolitan transport authorities and national schemes
Employs over 120 people across the group, with offices in London, Harrogate and Wetherby
Their customers include Bupa, Co-op, Sainsbury's, Heineken, RSLs and NHS Trusts
Manchester-based Vaioni is a market leading provider of connectivity
Their clients include Sky, L'Oreal, Sage, Nexus and the NHS
Global platform allows users to edit content on their website from anywhere
The company has worked with with customers in 14 countries with over 6000 users
Fresh Generation UK launched 452 websites and generated over £515m in revenue for their clients
A leading provider of ICT services and solutions to SME, corporate and public sectors.
Their client list includes TJ Hughes, Carpet Runners UK, Charles Clinkard, Gabor and Beauty Base
Supports more than 2000 clients worldwide, including British Gas, Aviva, Mercedes Benz and Virgin
The firm has offices in Manchester, London and Glasgow
The company runs websites and customer services for couriers such as TNT, Hermes, DPD and UPS
Uniform now employs 54 people, mostly in Liverpool but with a small outpost in London
Their web3 software is deployed via the cloud to 260,000 users in over 100 countries
Nitesite’s products are exported to thirty-one countries, with a presence on every continent
Their clients include EE, Playtech, Asda, Jet2.com, the NHS, McDonald's and Hermes
Develops software that visualises speech from audio recordings
Worked with industry leading vendors like Microsoft, Sonicwall, Sage, Netapp and Veaam
Operates out of London, Leeds and Munich.
Began as a single-source IT company and in 2011 shifted its focus to cloud computing
Services include media relations, content marketing and social media management 
Created over 1,750 videos for over 1,000 clients around the world
Designs and develops new digital services for social good
Recently expanded globally with the launch of its market-leading platform, Number Manager
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Company
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Information
THE NORTHERN TECH 100
In association with the
NORTHERN TECH AWARDS
# N O R T H E R N T E C H 1 0 0 
• •
•  3  •
3 0  M A R C H  2 0 1 7
• •
4. DOUBLE ELEVEN
Double Eleven is a niche publisher and 
developer of interactive entertainment; 
publishing and developing video games 
on Xbox, PlayStation and PC. The 
Middlesbrough-based 
company was 
founded in 2009 by Lee Hutchinson and 
Matt Shepcar, 
former developers at 
Rockstar Games. 
Double Eleven have worked on games for 
Sony, Microsoft and Warner Brothers. Their 
titles include LittleBigPlanet, Nom Nom 
Galaxy, Goat Simulator, Lego Harry Potter: 
Years 1-4 and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7. 
In 2016 Shahid Ahmad, previously head of 
PlayStation UK’s strategic content division, 
joined Double Eleven as an advisor.
5. TRAK GLOBAL GROUP
Operating in five countries, Trak Global 
Group is one of the world's largest 
telematics companies, gathering and 
interpreting data from connected devices 
to help organisations manage driver and 
vehicle risk. The Crewe-based company 
was founded by Nick Corrie, an economics 
graduate, 
former RAF officer and 
experienced businessman. 
To date, the company has gathered and 
interpreted over 500 million safer journeys; 
in 2015 it received the Prince Michael 
International Road Safety Award for its 
work in reducing young driver accident 
frequency.
6. PURPLE WIFI
In May 2012 Gavin Wheeldon founded 
Purple, a WiFi and location SaaS solution 
offering analytics and marketing tools 
to businesses. Their software allows 
businesses to monitor their physical spaces 
and promote their brand, while providing 
insights into customer behaviour within 
venues. 
The Oldham-based company is observing 
growth 
in multiple sectors, 
including 
hospitality, retail, healthcare and cities. 
Since 2014, Purple has received two major 
investments: to £3.3m in January and 
£5.4m in September 2016.
7. PROFILE FINANCIAL
Preston-based Profile Financial was co-
founded by Ian Floyed and Steven Naylor. 
A leading pension adviser in the UK, the 
company has switched almost £500m of 
pension assets and improved retirement 
prospects for over 12,000 customers so far.
The company takes a hybrid approach to 
customer service, balancing technology 
and scalability with human interactions.
8. ACCESSPAY
AccessPay is a Manchester-based tech 
firm founded by Ali Moiyed in 2012. The 
firm works with businesses and banks to 
adopt next-generation payment services 
and tear up the bricks and mortar concept 
associated with finance as well as the 
traditional nature of bank-customer-
business relationships.
AccessPay’s team of developers have 
created a cloud-based connectivity layer, 
enabling business finance systems, bank 
accounts and major payments networks to 
talk to one another. The service is delivered 
in one portal, negating manual intervention 
across multiple platforms and interfaces, 
providing resource and cost savings as well 
as supporting management information 
and security. In 2016, AccessPay were 
awarded £1m funding from Barclays. 
9. ZEROLIGHT
Darren Jobling founded Newcastle-based 
ZeroLight in 2014. The company are 
pioneers in the field of commercial 3D 
visualisation for the automotive industry 
using virtual reality; their omnichannel 
platform empowers OEMs and partners 
to create and deliver compelling customer 
experiences 
that 
drive 
engagement 
across all touch points, leading to higher 
specification sales in-store and online.
Deployed in multiple markets worldwide 
by clients including Audi AG, Pagani 
Automobili, VW and Toyota Motor Europe, 
ZeroLight’s technology is revolutionising 
the automotive retail landscape. 
10. CONTROL F1
In 2010, Andy Dumbell and Carl Howarth 
founded Control F1, a digital software 
company that specialises in telematics and 
the Internet of Things. The Huddersfield-
based team are currently working on 
software projects 
including 
i-Motors, 
a commercially viable platform for 
connected vehicles, and My ICU Voice, a 
tablet-based system that allows 
hospital patients to communicate clearly 
with hospital staff. 
Control F1’s clients 
include the RAC, 
Globavista, Johnson & Johnson, the NHS 
and Risk Technology. 
Contrary to what many say about a lack 
of technical talent in the sector, Tom says 
he had no trouble there. “We’re firmly 
rooted in the Yorkshire area which puts 
us in a unique place. Our location near 
the M1 (the company now operates 
from Wakefield) means we have access 
to people living in Sheffield, Wakefield, 
Leeds and Bradford. We’ve got some 
really good people who don’t want to 
have to move to a London startup or 
commute to Manchester and we’re able 
to capture that wealth of talent.” 
commercial partnerships based on the 
online valuation tool they’ve developed. 
This means they now have two sets of 
customers – consumers and corporates.
Tom is confident about the year ahead. 
With a number of big projects in the 
pipeline he expects the company to at 
least double its growth rate this year. 
Quite the trajectory from its humble store 
cupboard beginnings.
...Continued from page 1
He then cautiously elaborates, trying not 
to give too much away. In essence the 
tool they’ve developed gathers data from 
various industry sources and applies a 
complex set of algorithms that factor in 
the minutiae of the car before offering a 
guide value.
The tech team is so good that they even 
build their own products for internal 
use, such as a scheduling tool for the 
company’s call centre. 
He adds: “It’s easier to say it’s not out 
there. I think you just need to think about 
it differently and allow people to work 
differently, remotely if necessary. Our 
tech director lives in Plymouth.” In fact, he 
says hiring the right sales staff quickly is 
actually his biggest business challenge. 
Having a good 
tech and market 
intelligence team is what’s enabling the 
company to run as efficiently as possible, 
diversify and grow fast. 18 months ago The 
Car Buying Group decided to accelerate 
its growth by selling white-label solutions 
to other websites, as well as forging 
Produced by: 
Tech North 
technorthhq.com 
Editor:
Vicki Shiel
@vickishiel
Copy:
Vicki Shiel, Martin Bryant, Richard Gregory, 
Hugh Campbell, Nadina Osmani, 
Jennifer Lee O'Brien
League Table:
GP Bullhound, Northern Tech Awards
Data and Insight:
Paul Braidford
Design and Production:
Hebe Works
CREDITS
•  4  •
3 0  M A R C H  2 0 1 7
• •
11. HEDGEHOG LAB
In 2007, co-workers Sarat Pediredla & 
Mark Forster left their positions as senior 
developers to co-found hedgehog lab, a 
global enterprise app developer & post-
PC technology consultancy. Specialising 
in digital applications for smartphones, 
tablets, 
desktops 
and 
wearables, 
the Newcastle-based company now 
have offices in London, Boston, Austin, 
Copenhagen and Hyderabad. 
Their clients include Channel 4, Mitsubishi, 
Hult International Business School and the 
Financial Times.
12. BIGCHANGE APPS LIMITED
Martin Port launched BigChange Apps 
on New Year’s Day, 2013. Based in Leeds, 
BigChange is a cloud based Mobile 
Workforce Management software serving 
the service, transport, construction, hire 
and waste industries.  Their all-in-one 
JobWatch platform is the paperless way 
to plan, manage, schedule and track a 
mobile workforce; it combines a cloud 
based back-office, an Android mobile app 
and real-time tracking. 
Notable 
customers 
are Hargreaves 
Services, Serco, Baxi, Silentnight, Komatsu 
and John Deere. It is also used by 2015 
Apprentice Winner Joseph Valente and Lord 
Sugar in their Impra-Gas home services 
business. By the end of 2017, BigChange 
will have 15,000 paid subscribers serving 
over 600 SMEs and enterprise customers.
13. HYPERDRIVE INNOVATION LTD 
Established 
in 
2012 
in Sunderland, 
Hyperdrive 
develops 
innovative 
technologies to power electric vehicles, 
homes and businesses. Hyperdrive has 
developed a range of high specification 
Battery Management Systems (BMS) 
and supports customers in defining and 
integrating systems. 
Recent 
projects 
have 
included 
collaborations with the British Antarctic 
Survey and OXIS Energy to design and 
develop battery technology that operates 
at -80 degrees Celsius. Hyperdrive also 
designed the battery technology used in 
the world’s quickest street legal electric 
car, the Flux Capacitor, in partnership with 
Jonny Smith.
14. PIMORONI LTD
Founded in 2012 by Jon Williamson and Paul 
Beech, Pimoroni aims to make electronics 
accessible by making kits for the Raspberry 
Pi. Its first product, Pibow, has sold over 
175,000 units. 
The Sheffield-based business has grown 
from one laser company and its co-
founders, to more than thirty employees, 
with five laser cutters and several circuit-
building robots. They’ve also successfully 
completed two fundraisers on Kickstarter.
15. TYRES ON THE DRIVE
Tyres On The Drive is a mobile tyre-
fitting company that allows customers to 
book online or over the phone and have 
new tyres fitted, or punctures repaired, 
at any suitable location. The company 
was founded in 2011 in Holmes Chapel by 
Dominic Clark, a former senior manager at 
Michelin. 
In January 2017, Tyres On The Drive 
secured an investment of up to £8m from 
Halfords, the UK’s leading retailer of 
motoring, cycling and leisure products as 
well as Halfords Autocentres, a leading 
independent operator in vehicle servicing, 
maintenance and repairs. 
16. RESDIARY.COM LIMITED
Founded 
in 2006 by Mike Conyers, 
ResDiary.com 
provide 
software 
to 
restaurant operators to help maximise 
their yield through reservation and table 
management. With 6,500 restaurants in 
60 countries using ResDiary, their system is 
used to process 2.5 million bookings each 
month.
Headquartered in Glasgow, ResDiary have 
sales and support staff in the UK, Ireland, 
New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and 
Hong Kong, with resellers in South Africa, 
Norway, Switzerland, Portugal, Malta, 
Indonesia, Canada and Uruguay.
17. 3SQUARED
3Squared, a technology consultancy based 
in Sheffield, has over 15 years experience 
offering a range of software products, 
services and consultancy. Co-founders 
Tim Jones and James Fox met during a 
course in computer software engineering 
at Sheffield Hallam University; 
they 
formed the company in 2002, shortly after 
graduating.
In 2016, 3Squared won the Queen’s Award 
for Enterprise in Innovation for their 
licensed RailSmart software suite, now 
used by the majority of the UK’s rail freight 
sector. They currently employ 45 full-time 
members of staff in Sheffield, and have 
plans to become the leading software 
supplier to the UK rail sector. 
18. REDU GROUP
Redu is an award-winning provider of 
social, mobile and data-driven affiliate 
marketing. The Seaham-based company 
was founded by Darren Williams, Sam 
Morton and Gary Hunter; it delivers high 
volume incremental sales for brands 
and retailers through its Ashleigh Money 
Saver and Ashleigh Plus Size Brands. The 
company also has its own proprietary 
software IP in its affiliate manager system, 
NLite. 
Ashleigh Money Saver is an established 
and profitable affiliate model operated 
by Facebook, websites and emailing, 
promoting offers from leading retailers 
including Very, John Lewis, Asda and Boots.
19. RRADAR
rradar is a new kind of law firm, training 
and advising its clients to help them avoid 
risks ranging from health and safety to 
fraud prevention. rradar was founded by 
Gary Gallen in 2014, who resigned from his 
job at a traditional law firm to set up the 
company.
The Hessle-based firm has recently 
launched a legal Virtual Assistant called 
Grace, the first of its kind, using bespoke 
coding and content designed in-house in 
partnership with IBM Watson.
20. CLOUD TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
Cloud 
Technology 
Solutions 
is 
a 
Manchester-based tech company that 
provides G Suite and Google Cloud platform 
solutions. They are one of the world’s 
leading Google Cloud Premier Partners, 
delivering tailored digital transformations 
to organisations in 47 countries. Their 
CloudMigrator and CloudPages software 
has close to 10 million users.
The driving force behind CTS’ growth is 
CEO James Doggart; prior to CTS, James 
ran a software solutions and services 
business where he doubled the turnover 
and profitability of the organisation. 
Their clients include organisations such 
as AG Barr, Yahoo!, Majestic Wine and 
Manchester City Council.
21. INVENTRY LTD
InVentry was established in 2010 in Leeds, 
with a goal to streamline and perfect the 
school sign in process. InVentry are now the 
market leader for site access and visitor 
management products, trusted by over 
3,000 schools. 
With a fully integrated system allowing 
its users to accurately monitor who is 
on-site at any one time, InVentry speeds 
up the signing in process, keeps identity 
information secure and leaves senior 
leaders in schools feeling confident that 
their students are safe.
22. CURRENTBODY.COM LTD
CurrentBody was the first ecommerce 
company to recognise the fastest growing 
niche in the beauty industry over the 
last two years; the rapid introduction 
of professional devices miniaturised 
into handheld units for consumer use. 
CurrentBody partners with leading brands 
in the market including L’Oreal’s highly 
acclaimed facial cleanser Clarisonic and 
Unilever's hair removal systems.
Co-founders Laurence Newman and 
Andrew Showman, alongside a senior 
management team lead by Chairman Mike 
McGrath, have grown the company to 20 
staff in a hybrid office and warehouse, 
purpose built in Cheadle.
23. TRIBEPAD
Dean Sadler, a former CIO and CTO at 
Plusnet, founded TribePad in 2008. The 
Sheffield-based 
company���s 
award-
winning 
recruitment 
software allows 
candidates to apply for jobs from any 
device, at any location. 
TribePad’s software is currently used in 
over 120 countries in seventeen languages 
and has processed over 35 million job 
applications. Their customers include the 
BBC, KFC, Tesco, Sweaty Betty, Skipton 
Building Society and Bupa.
24. GIACOM WORLD NETWORKS
Founded in 1991 by CEO Nick Marshall, 
Giacom is a service provider based in Hull. 
The company was initially built as an ISP 
serving tens of thousands of consumers 
and businesses. 
Giacom now operates MessageStream 
Cloud Marketplace which provides over 
4,000 IT professionals and resellers with 
access to cloud services. It is Europe’s 
largest cloud marketplace exclusively for IT 
support professionals.
25. PERFORMANCE HORIZON
Performance Horizon was founded in 2010 
by a team of Affiliate Marketing veterans, 
including Malcolm Cowley and Paul 
Fellows. 
In 2011, they launched their core product: 
Performance Horizon Enterprise. They 
are now the leading provider of SaaS 
software for partner marketing, and the 
team has grown to 100 employees. Based 
in Newcastle, with offices in the USA, Japan 
and Australia, Performance Horizon is 
backed by top-tier investors, including 
Mithril, Greycroft Partners and DN Capital.
T E C H N O R T H
• •
•  5  •
3 0  M A R C H  2 0 1 7
• •
# N O R T H E R N T E C H 1 0 0 
• •
You may not follow 
them on Facebook or 
visit their website, but 
chances are you’ve 
seen (and laughed) at 
something published by 
TheLADbible Group. 
VICKI SHIEL
Started by school friends Solly Solomou 
and Arian Kalantari in 2012 when they were 
still at university (Solomou was at Leeds 
and Kalantari at Liverpool), TheLADbible 
Group has filled the void left following the 
demise of lads’ mags such as Loaded in the 
nineties and is now followed by half of all 
British males aged 18 to 24. 
“We were just producing funny content 
for the younger audience,” says co-
founder Kalantari of the early days. But 
the duo have always seen it as a business. 
Following early success on Facebook they 
built a website and heavily promoted it 
through advertising networks. “We found 
that what we were doing really resonated 
with our audience,’ he adds.
It seems so. To date they’ve accumulated 
23 million followers on Facebook and 
ladbible.com is now the 10th most-visited 
website in the UK according to Alexa. Since 
growing that community TheLADbible 
Group has gone on to build a portfolio of 
other brands including SPORTbible, Pretty 
52, branded content agency Joyride, and 
licensing arm CONTENTbible, used by TV 
networks, brand and publishers. 
That’s their core business, Kalantari tells 
me. They also run a number of ‘incubator 
channels’ — new brands they treat as 
startups, constantly testing and learning 
what works for that particular audience. 
These include LENSbible (Instagram-only 
photography content), GAMINGbible and 
FOODbible, all typically aimed  at a youth 
audience. 
How do they manage all this? They’ve 
grown the team over the past five years to 
just under 140 people and have offices in 
both Manchester and Shoreditch. Not bad 
considering they’re both 25 years old. Just 
don’t use the term millennial to describe 
their target audience. “I’m 25 and I behave 
quite differently to most 16-year-olds,” he 
explains.
Of the 140 employees they have a tech 
team of just under 30 and they’ve custom 
built everything from the website and 
submissions platform to their editorial 
management system. 
“From the off we’ve seen the importance 
of tech. We position our companies as 
a combination of tech and media,” says 
Kalantari.
The secret of their success seems to be a 
combination of good timing, listening to 
their audience, and an ability to carve out 
a niche in this new and evolving publishing 
space. “There’s no traditional way of doing 
this, we’re kind of writing the book.”
“The thing we do that traditional publishing 
doesn’t is look at tech and data closely with 
creative. We provide writers with data on 
topics and encourage them to get creative 
within that framework. Authenticity is very 
important to us. We listen to comments, 
look at the data, and feed it back to 
creative — it’s full circle.”
Already popular in the US, Australia and 
Ireland, the team’s plan this year is to 
further expand globally. So expect to see 
even more from TheLADbible Group.
“WE WERE JUST 
PRODUCING 
FUNNY 
CONTENT FOR 
THE YOUNGER 
AUDIENCE”
THE-
LADBIBLE
GROUP
INTERVIEW
T E C H N O R T H
• •
•  6  •
3 0  M A R C H  2 0 1 7
• •
One of the first things 
that jumped out at me 
from the table was 
the diversity of the 
sectors. In the largest 
six companies alone, 
there’s everything from 
ecommerce, transport, 
telecoms and gaming.
Something that’s really exciting is the age 
of some of these companies. Twenty-six 
of them have been created in the last five 
years. TheLADbible Group, for example, is 
a really fast-growing, young business with 
impressive revenues, who have used social 
media in exciting new ways; so that’s an 
interesting trend to watch.
Of course, you can’t help but get drawn 
into some of the things that are still holding 
companies back. One of the challenges we 
find in the North is that there’s relatively 
less access to funding at early stages. It 
is disproportionately hard in the North of 
England to get funding. There’s a real job to 
increase awareness of tech opportunities in 
the region with angel investors. Sixty-eight 
percent of the businesses on this table have 
had no VC backing; they’re still growing 
at a phenomenal rate — which of course, 
is a wonderful thing. Imagine how great 
that list could be if we had more access to 
funding? 
We’re seeing more connectivity between 
Liverpool and Manchester in the Northwest 
and Sheffield, Leeds and Hull in Yorkshire; 
but we’ve still got a challenge to get people 
thinking cross-region. There are still very 
few pan-Northern organisations on the list; 
something I find odd. A lot of the companies 
are very big in one location.
One of the big challenges in the tech space 
is procuring more talent. I think Sky Betting 
& Gaming is a good example of how pan-
northern growth can help resolve this 
issue. They launched in Leeds and grew 
to the point where they had over 1,000 
employees, which is wonderful. When they 
realised there’s only so much in the talent 
pool, they opened a second office in 
Sheffield where they employ another 150 to 
200  people. I wouldn’t be surprised if they 
opened another office in the North at some 
point. With a pan-Northern mindset, they’ll 
continue to grow. 
It’s extremely important to acknowledge 
the lack of gender diversity 
in this 
table. The owners, founders or majority 
shareholders of companies on the table 
are predominantly men. That’s got to 
change; we’ve got a lot more work to do 
in this space.
Gender diversity is one of the areas the 
whole industry has to focus on, so that this 
table is much more representative in years 
to come. 
Historically, the league table has been a 
top 50, so the fact that we’ve extended 
it to 100 this year — that there’s so many 
opportunities to talk about — is really 
reassuring. We’re talking about a growth 
market that feels really sustainable. 
"WITH A 
PAN-NORTHERN 
MINDSET, COMPANIES 
WILL CONTINUE TO
GROW"
RICHARD 
GREGORY
DIRECTOR OF TECH NORTH
OPINION
•  7  •
3 0  M A R C H  2 0 1 7
• •
The tech scene in the 
North is more robust 
than ever. Over the 
past twelve months we 
have seen high profile 
transactions as well 
as growth from key 
regional players.
Behind these private sector successes, 
there is a visible recognition from the 
public sector regarding the importance 
of technology to the Northern economy. 
Furthermore, there has been a flow of 
people and funding from corporates to 
the North as they seek to develop their 
technology platforms and offerings. The 
momentum is with the North when it comes 
to technology. The story we have all long 
believed is starting to become reality. 
Technology is coming home to the North.
Skyscanner stole the headlines with its sale 
to the Chinese travel firm Ctrip for £1.4bn 
– a fantastic and pioneering journey for 
the Northern tech scene which saw a 
business go from back bedroom to global 
unicorn. Skyscanner is no flash-in-the-
pan experience, as demonstrated by the 
likes of BooHoo.com, MoneySupermarket.
com and AO.com which have all achieved 
Unicorn status. Critically, these business 
are all underpinned by strong revenues 
and have been able to show sustained 
growth over a number of years. 
Beneath the Unicorns, there is a plethora of 
smaller, but no less ambitious companies, 
the Northern Foals, with the aspiration, the 
ambitions, the capability and the products 
to become the next Unicorns. It should be 
the aim of everyone involved in the tech 
scene in the North to help these businesses 
achieve their obvious potential. This 
includes companies like On the Beach, GB 
Group and Zuto which have used a digital 
platform to transform more traditional 
industries. Although based in the North, 
their scope is very much UK-wide and they 
are looking to roll out their models overseas 
too. Others like Performance Horizon and 
LADbible Group have already established 
a significant international footprint. Like 
SkyScanner before them, they too have 
caught the eye of international corporates 
and investors for the real innovation and 
value they can bring to their customers.
The success of these private sector 
companies has spurred on the policy 
makers in the region. This infrastructure 
is vital to support, maintain and grow the 
tech ecosystem. It is also recognition of how 
important technology is and will continue 
to be for the region. This support is focused 
on three key areas: funding, promotion and 
education.
There has been consistent feedback about 
funding gaps within the North, however this 
is slowly being addressed. Amongst other 
organisations, there has been the launch of 
the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund 
and Accelerated Digital Ventures which 
receive both private investment alongside 
funding from the British Business Bank.
Across the North, there are now a number 
of organisations, particularly at a local 
government level, looking to shout about the 
achievements both locally and regionally. 
Tech North, Sunderland Software City, 
Dot Forge, Dynamo and Digital Union are 
all examples of organisations which are 
focused on developing and promoting the 
tech ecosystem in their specific regions. 
Crucially, as these ecosystems develop, it 
also encourages the skills developed in the 
region to remain.
Ultimately, tech in the North is about the 
people and equipping those people with 
the skills to create globally successful 
companies. We are lucky to have some 
of the best universities in the world which 
are producing highly skilled graduates. 
Nevertheless, there is still an identified 
shortage of key technology skills. A number 
of apprenticeship schemes are being 
promoted across the region to ensure the 
talent pool is available to ensure continued 
tech investment in the region.
Finally, we should not forget the North has 
a lot more to offer the tech community: 
an excellent 
transport 
infrastructure, 
good international airports, a relatively 
inexpensive 
standard of 
living, 
the 
opportunity to live and work in a city, yet 
have some of the most stunning countryside 
on your doorstep. The reasons for the 
continued success of tech in the North are 
compelling.
OPINION
"THE MOMENTUM 
IS WITH THE NORTH 
WHEN IT COMES TO 
TECHNOLOGY."
HUGH 
CAMPBELL
CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING 
PARTNER AT GP BULLHOUND
# N O R T H E R N T E C H 1 0 0 
• •
•  8  •
3 0  M A R C H  2 0 1 7
• •
26. DEGREE 53
Degree 53 is an award-winning digital 
agency specialising in mobile app and 
website development, UX, design and 
consultancy services. Founded in 2013 
by Andrew Daniels, the company offers 
development, 
design, 
research and 
consultancy to a number of industries, 
including 
online 
gambling, 
sports, 
finance, retail and education. Degree 53 
holds the Remote Gambling Software 
licence accredited by the UK Gambling 
Commission, allowing them to provide 
comprehensive and secure digital services 
to its clients in the gambling industry.
Degree 53 is based at The Sharp Project 
in Manchester, a creative digital business 
hub.
27. EVOLUTION FUNDING
Established 
in 2002 
in Chesterfield, 
Evolution Funding is an automotive funding 
and retailing group. Led by company 
Director Jeremy Levine, Evolution Funding 
employs over 270 people UK-wide with 
multiple arms to the operation, including a 
motor finance brokerage, vehicle rentals, 
vehicle loans, two car dealerships and a 
body shop and accident repair centre. 
The company provides market-leading 
motor finance products to consumers 
via more than 4,000 approved dealer 
partnerships and groups, with a fleet of 
2,000 flexi-rental vehicles. 
28. LPW TECHNOLOGY LTD
In 2007, Phil Carroll PHD founded LPW 
Technology. LPW uses its leading 3D 
printing software to develop and supply 
metal powders for additive manufacturing 
and safety critical industries including 
aerospace, automotive and medical 
sectors. Known worldwide for its research 
and development, LPW’s respected team 
of software, mechanical and applications 
engineers has developed a unique AM 
powder 
lifecycle management system 
called PowderLife.
LPW is headquartered in Runcorn, with 
operations in the USA, Europe and Asia.
29. AZZURE IT
Founded by Craig Such in 2011, Azzure IT 
is a Microsoft Dynamics provider, with a 
headquarters in Sheffield and offices in 
Reading and Newcastle. The company sells 
and deploys Microsoft business software 
products to support SMEs in the growth and 
development of their businesses. It works 
with companies across a range of sectors 
including manufacturing, 
professional 
services, logistics and not for profit. 
Azzure IT is the UK’s leading Microsoft Gold 
Partner, a two-time Deloitte Fast UK fastest 
growing tech company and Microsoft 
President’s Club member 2016. 
30. SHIELD SAFETY
Shield Safety believes in making safety 
simple for every business in the UK. 
Founded by Mark Flanagan, Shield Safety 
is the No. 1 provider of Food, Fire and Health 
& Safety services and software for multi-
location businesses within the hospitality 
industry, with increasing growth across 
retail, manufacturing and SMEs.
In 2017, Shield Safety was shortlisted 
for Company of the Year and Flanagan 
was shortlisted for Business Person of 
the Year by the Greater Manchester 
Business Awards. The company is based in 
Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
31. GODEL TECHNOLOGIES EUROPE
Godel Technologies is a nearshore software 
development partner, engaging with some 
of the UK’s leading household names and 
technology companies to extend their 
development capacity. The company 
provides high performance teams for 
clients, with expertise in agile consulting, 
continuous delivery, business analysis, 
software development, quality assurance 
and digital and business intelligence.
The company is led by CEO Neil Turvin, 
who has over 15 years of experience in IT 
and software development. With offices in 
Manchester and London, Godel employs 
over 300 people; more than half of their 
management team are female.
32. THE FLOOW 
The idea for The Floow came from Aldo 
Monteforte, an Italian entrepreneur and 
investor who saw a gap in the telematics 
market and co-founded the company with 
Dr. Sam Chapman, a researcher at The 
University of Sheffield. The Floow designs 
and operates insightful and user-friendly 
telematics systems, providing some of the 
world’s largest motor insurers and auto 
organisations with actionable analytics to 
increase customer loyalty and ROI.
The Floow operates globally from Sheffield, 
helping make vehicles safer and cheaper 
for all.
33. BEDE GAMING
Over the past five years Bede Gaming 
has built a world class platform for the 
online gambling industry. Headquartered 
in Newcastle Upon Tyne, with offices 
in London and Sofia, Bulgaria, Bede 
processes over 200 million transactions 
and handle more than £550m of wagers 
per month, powering some of the largest 
online gambling operators and lotteries 
worldwide.
The company was founded in 2011 by 
Joseph Saumarez Smith, Dan Smyth and 
Michael Brady, who had previously worked 
with games suppliers including OpenBet, 
Playtech and Dragonfish.
34. PANINTELLIGENCE 
Panintelligence is an independent Business 
Intelligence software vendor providing 
data visualisation software 
to other 
software vendors and resellers in sectors 
such as education, document management 
and fintech.
Led by Managing Director Mike Cripps and 
based in Leeds, Panintelligence are the 
only Sage certified BI solution for Sage 200 
and Sage CRM; in 2014 they won Sage’s 
Development Partner Innovation Award. 
Their software partners include Capita, 
Tribal, RM, Communisis and Advanced.
35. INTECHNICA
Intechnica enables businesses to improve 
their website and application performance, 
reduce hosting costs and 
technical 
debt and maximise sales 
revenues. 
The Manchester-based company was 
launched after co-founders Gidlow and 
Andy Still implemented and optimised the 
system that successfully sold the tickets for 
Glastonbury 2005.
The company works across a diverse range 
of sectors including retail, B2B commerce, 
gambling, online Gaming, ticketing, media 
and insurance. In 2015 the company 
developed TrafficDefender, a product 
designed to help businesses manage high 
and variable traffic demands on online 
systems, and to remove unwanted traffic 
from bots, crawlers and spiders.
36. TELCOM NETWORKS LTD
After travelling the UK collecting startup 
stories for their site Tech Britain, Doug 
Ward and Shaun Gibson co-founded 
Telcom, a Manchester-based ISP providing 
internet connectivity to businesses across 
Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and London. 
Using the latest technology to make 
installation quicker and more efficient, 
Telcom provide reliable internet up to 
1GB per second to support commerce and 
innovation.
Their clients include Cirque du Soleil, the 
NHS, LADbible Group, Allied London and 
Uber.
37. ENGAGE INTERACTIVE LTD
Engage is a full service digital agency in 
Leeds, providing digital strategy, website 
design and development, 
campaign 
planning and execution, social media 
management, SEO and PPC. The company 
was launched in 2007 by Creative Director 
Alex Willcocks and Technical Director Dave 
Wrightson, who met working at an agency 
in Harrogate.
With over twenty-five clients in the UK, 
the company has worked with northern 
household names including Yorkshire Tea, 
Jet2 and Leeds Building Society.
38. REASON DIGITAL 
In 2007, Matt Haworth and Ed Cox founded 
Reason Digital, a digital 
innovation 
agency working with the UK's biggest 
charities, social enterprises and corporate 
responsibility departments to 
improve 
social impact.
Reason Digital apply a human-centred 
design approach to co-produce digital 
products 
including websites, 
online 
platforms, mobile apps and digital 
communities to change more people's 
lives, make efficiencies and deliver critical 
services at scale. They’ve developed 
apps to make it easy to donate unwanted 
goods to charity shops, built early warning 
systems to help keep sex workers safer and 
created platforms connecting volunteers 
to older people to combat isolation and 
decline in mental health.
39. INTERACT
Nigel Danson PHD founded 
Interact 
with the aim of connecting people to 
people, and people to content. They 
are now a global enterprise software 
company, providing their product to over 
750 customers worldwide, with over 
one million users. 
Interact specialise 
in solving internal communication and 
collaboration challenges by combining 
their sophisticated intranet software with 
outstanding professional services.
Headquartered near Manchester, Interact 
has offices in New York, San Francisco and 
Sydney..
40. HIRING HUB
Co-founded by Simon Swan and Sara 
Jones in 2010, Hiring Hub is an online 
platform helping companies find and work 
with trusted, 
independent recruitment 
agencies. Its mission: to make recruiting 
talent hassle-free while placing trust and 
integrity at the heart of the recruitment 
agency.
The first employer to sign up with Hiring 
Hub was high street retailer Schuch; their 
clients now include Morrisons, Capita, 
Nisa, Iceland and Ascribe. In 2015, Swan 
was named Software Entrepreneur of the 
Year at the Digital Entrepreneur Awards, 
and included in Real Business’ Young Guns. 
The company’s story has been featured 
by The Guardian, The Sunday Times, BBC 
News and the London Evening Standard.
T E C H N O R T H
• •
•  9  •
3 0  M A R C H  2 0 1 7
• •
Rradar is transforming 
how businesses 
work with the legal 
profession.
MARTIN BRYANT
Next time someone tells you that robots 
are coming for everyone’s jobs, point them 
in the direction of Rradar. Founder Gary 
Gallen is shaking up the legal profession by 
automating as much work as possible. But 
still, he’s hiring lawyers at a fair clip. The 
East Yorkshire-based firm already employs 
nearly 100 people, and that headcount is 
set to double this year.
It’s impressive growth for a firm that lawyer 
Gallen started alone in his conservatory 
just four years ago.
Today, law works much the same as it 
always has. The Legal Services Act of 2007 
aimed to relax the way the sector worked, 
but it hasn’t led to much in the way of real 
disruption. Now Rradar is changing that by 
completely rethinking how businesses work 
with lawyers and insurers.
Rradar is as much an education company 
as it is a law firm. Rather than just working 
with businesses when something goes 
wrong, it trains them to help stop things 
going wrong in the first place.
Online training, seminars, one-to-one 
calls, podcasts and more are provided to 
help businesses understand and tackle the 
risks they’re likely to face. These risks range 
from health and safety to fraud prevention. 
If insurers can cover something, Rradar 
can offer a training package that helps 
reduce the risk that a claim will ever have 
to be made.
Now Rradar has launched a ‘Siri for legal 
advice’ app called Grace. If an executive 
needs to check, say, employment law, they 
can ask this virtual assistant for answers 
rather than being charged a hefty hourly 
fee for the same information from a 
human.
Gallen says the rest of the legal sector 
hasn’t been too keen on the idea of taking 
work away from human lawyers. After all, 
this basic advice is the bread and butter of 
many law firms. But it seems to be making 
life more interesting for Rradar’s lawyers. 
Now that it’s so easy for customers to get 
answers to basic questions, they come 
to the company with more advanced, 
interesting problems that are more fulfilling 
to work on.
“Lawyers want challenging work. When we 
commoditise basic info, we get more calls 
about the more clever second- and third-
tier work."
The tech side of Rradar’s business is 
growing — it’s explored virtual reality as 
one way of educating clients, for example. 
But despite that, its Leeds and Glasgow 
satellite offices are growing fast as they 
staff up with legal professionals. “Our 
customers want local representatives. They 
want drop-in centres they can come to for 
a chat and advice,” says Gallen. 
Gallen argues that if the legal profession 
doesn’t commoditise 
its most basic 
knowledge, the likes of Google will come in 
and do it instead. 
“Tech doesn’t put humans out of work," 
he says. "It just reframes where humans 
provide the true value, using technology to 
create bridges of trust.”
"TECH DOESN’T 
PUT HUMANS 
OUT OF WORK. IT 
JUST REFRAMES 
WHERE THEY 
PROVIDE VALUE"
# N O R T H E R N T E C H 1 0 0 
• •
RRADAR
INTERVIEW
41. THE HUT GROUP
In 2004 John Gallemore and Matthew 
Moulding, former co-workers at The 
Caudwell Group, founded The Hut Group. 
The company operates over 100 high-
profit websites that sell premium, non-
perishable FMCG direct to consumer and 
the fast growing, global health and beauty 
markets via its in-house technology and 
operating platform.
During 2015, The Hut group shipped over 
9 million items to 192 countries, and they 
serve 400 million website visitors annually. 
They employ over 1,000 people, and are 
headquartered in Cheshire.
42. ZUTO
In 2006, James Wilkinson and Ryan Dignan 
founded Zuto, an online car finance 
and loan company, in Macclesfield. The 
company supports UK car buyers in the 
search and funding of their vehicle. They 
have helped more than half a million 
people find car finance, with one-to-one 
support for customers through the car 
buying process.
In 2015, the company expanded into 
central Manchester; they currently employ 
over 300 people, affectionately known as 
‘Zutonites’.
43. SKY BETTING & GAMING
Led by Chief Executive Richard Flint, Sky 
Betting & Gaming was formed in 2001 in 
Leeds. The company has grown to become 
one of the UK’s leading online bookmakers, 
with a team of over 1,000 employees.
As one of the first bookmakers to recognise 
the potential of online and then mobile 
platforms for betting and gaming, Sky 
Betting & Gaming operates five major 
online products — Bet, Vegas, Casino, 
Poker, and Bingo — as well as leading 
sports affiliate, Oddschecker. Sky Betting 
& Gaming also has offices in Sheffield, 
London and Rome.
44. MPD GROUP
MPD Group are a software company 
that create technology that enables 
fulfilment and deliveries for businesses 
and consumers. Founded in 2010 by 
CEO David Grimes, their brands include 
Electio, a delivery management platform 
that enables retailers to rapidly increase 
the delivery options they offer to their 
customers, and My Parcel Delivery, a multi-
award winning parcel delivery comparison 
website.
The Manchester-based company has 
secured £6.5m in funding since 2013.
45. TEAM17
Team17 
is a games developer and 
publisher based in Wakefield, best known 
for the popular Worms franchise. Founded 
by Debbie Bestwick, the company has a 
27-year heritage in games development, 
retail and publishing. Team17 creates and 
sells a range of successful titles worldwide, 
through major digital distributors such as 
Sony, Microsoft, Apple and Google.
In 2016, Team17 secured a £16.5m 
investment from LDC to fuel its expansion, 
and acquired games developer Mouldy 
Toof Studios.
46. RESULTING
Resulting was founded in 2004 by Stuart 
Browne. Based in Warrington, Resulting 
designs, builds and runs high-performing 
IT delivery organisations for businesses. 
The company are strategic suppliers to a 
number of large consulting firms and work 
client-side for large enterprises, globally. 
Their customers include EY, Nationwide 
and HMRC.
47. CONNEXIN
Connexin is a UK telecoms operator 
delivering broadband and voice services 
to SMEs and residential customers. The 
company is currently delivering broadband 
services in Hull and offering a national 
voice service.
Connexin was founded and is currently led 
by Furqan Alamgir, an Imperial College 
graduate. Alamgir has assembled a solid 
operational management 
team and 
engaged industry heavyweights to come 
alongside as Non Executive Directors, 
including Ed Candy (formerly CTO at 
Hutchinson Three Group UK), who acts as 
technical advisor.
48. EVOKE CREATIVE
Founded in 2003 by Dean Ward, Neil 
Clark, Graham Boyd and Iain Quayle, 
Evoke Creative designs interactive digital 
products for major blue-chip clients 
including JD Sports, Debenhams, Google 
and McDonald’s. Based in the Wirral, 
their solutions include self-service kiosks, 
video walls, digital signage, information 
points, payment terminals and interactive 
experiences.
The company has rapidly established 
themselves as a market leader in the UK, 
with products exported to more than 
a dozen countries. Staff numbers have 
almost doubled over the past 18 months 
and the business now employs 56 people.
49. PARALLAX
Parallax began as two companies between 
four friends:  Dario Grandich, Lawrence 
Dudley, Andy Fitch and James Hall. The 
website and web application companies 
operated between several bedrooms in 
York.
In 2009, they took the decision to merge 
and move to Leeds. The digital agency 
now works with a diverse range of clients 
including British Airways, Nespresso, 
Hisense, American Express, Kerry Foods, 
easyGym and the Yorkshire Cricket Club.
50. UTILIGROUP
Utiligroup is a market leading provider of 
SaaS software to the utilities and energy 
industry. Led by CEO Matthew Hirst and 
based in Chorley, the company makes a 
complex industry easier to understand, 
removing 
competitive 
barriers 
and 
enabling their clients to provide excellent 
service for their customers. 
Utiligroup works with established and new 
entrant energy suppliers, as well as power 
traders, asset providers, metering agents 
and distribution companies.
51. IMPULSEPAY LIMITED 
Chris Newell started his first business, 
TextYou, while studying Computing for 
Business at the University of Northumbria. 
He later rebranded the company as 
Interlinked Media, sold it and used the 
proceeds to launch ImpulsePay; a UK 
Mobile Payments facilitator in Newcastle.
Most of ImpulsePay’s customers are online 
retailers looking to integrate a mobile 
payment method; their clients include 
SpareRoom, Cross Country Trains, 192.
com and Virgin Trains. The company are 
an accredited payment intermediary of EE, 
Vodafone, O2, and Three.
52. MOBYSOFT
Founded in 2003 by Derek Steele, Manchester-
based Mobysoft provides a cloud based 
predictive analytic software called Rentsense 
to social landlords in the UK.
Their software helps over 70 housing 
organisations maximise 
income, create 
efficiencies and mitigate welfare reform. On 
average, their customers achieve a 15.8% 
arrears reduction in the first year as well as an 
average efficiency saving of 25%.
In 2016 Mobysoft won a Queen’s Award for 
Enterprise in Innovation and the Housing 
Excellence Best IT system for its RentSense 
software.
53. AIRANGEL
Warrington-based 
company 
Airangel 
provides public and guest WiFi products 
to 
the enterprise hospitality market, 
serviced 
apartment 
buildings 
and 
large public venues. Led by CEO Dean 
Wilkinson, Airangel’s products cover nearly 
100,000 rooms or units in 27 countries. 
Their customers include Mercedes-Benz, 
Malmaison Hotel du Vin and the NHS.
Airangel has expanded internationally and 
opened a second office in Dubai, covering 
the Middle East and Africa regions.
54. METRONET (UK)
Led by CEO Lee Perkins, Metronet is one 
of the UK’s fastest growing connectivity 
providers, operating connectivity products 
including wireless, fibre, VoIP, network 
security and datacentre and cloud services.
In October 2016 Metronet acquired internet 
infrastructure company M247. Following 
this acquisition, the Metronet Group now 
offer a combined portfolio of connectivity 
and content services across the UK and 
Europe. The business operates from 
Manchester and Bucharest, Romania.
55. ANGEL SOLUTIONS
Angel Solutions has been building software 
for the education industry since 1999. 
Founded by Andy Kent, Angel Solution’s 
web-based software is used by every 
local authority in England, as well as 
thousands of schools, children’s centres 
and nurseries. In 2012, their Liverpool-
based office underwent a circus-themed 
refurbishment with a colourful ball pool, 
popcorn machine, unicycle and a big top, 
circus tent meeting space.
In 2016, the company were named Business 
of the Year (up to 50 employees) by the 
Liverpool Echo.
T E C H N O R T H
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The future of car 
insurance flows 
straight out of 
Sheffield.
MARTIN BRYANT
The future of cars is data, and Sheffield-
based The Floow is well placed to be a key 
player in this new world.
Vehicle insurance premiums used to be 
based on informed guesses about how 
likely you were to be a safe driver. Now the 
industry is taking a more precise approach, 
and The Floow is leading the way.
If you’ve installed a data collection device 
in your car, or engaged with an app to 
lower your premiums over the past few 
years, there’s a strong possibility The Floow 
has something to do with the ‘scores’ you 
receive.
It’s all about better informed insurers and 
better informed, safer drivers. As well as 
sending information to your insurer about 
how you’re driving, the company offers 
advice that helps you make better choices in 
the future – economically, environmentally, 
and from a safety perspective.
The Floow works with major insurers 
around the world, including Direct Line 
Group and AIG. It also deals directly with 
car companies like Renault and Nissan.
Now the company is ready for major 
international expansion. A recent £13 
million investment led by China’s Fosun 
will see the company double its headcount 
to support growth in the American and 
Chinese markets. But co-founder Sam 
Chapman is keen to stress that The Floow 
will stay firmly rooted in Sheffield.
Being based in Sheffield was no accident. 
The insurance industry is centred around 
London, Singapore and New York, but 
serial entrepreneur Aldo Monteforte was 
convinced the South Yorkshire city was 
an ideal home for The Floow. Cost of 
living, quality of life and a pipeline of local 
graduates with the right skills were strong 
deciding factors.
The choice of location has paid off. The 
Floow has no problem attracting staff 
to relocate from around the world. Sam 
Chapman says that one team member 
moved from working on the Large Hadron 
Collider 
in Switzerland because 
the 
problems that The Floow was solving were 
more interesting. 
The Floow is transforming a staid market 
with a fresh approach, but autonomous 
driving presents the company with exc</p>