- The 100 companies together generated £3.7bn in sales
- More than 11,600 jobs were added in three years
- Most firms are young, private and already trading overseas
Britain’s fastest-growing private technology firms are scaling quickly, creating jobs and pushing revenues higher, even as the wider sector faces tighter funding conditions and growing questions around policy support.
The latest The Sunday Times 100 Tech ranking for 2026, a sister list to the long-running Sunday Times 100, tracks the performance of independent, privately owned tech companies headquartered in the UK. Sponsored by Singer Capital Markets, HSBC Innovation Banking and BDO, the ranking is split into two categories: software, and hardware and other technology, including life sciences.
Collectively, the 100 companies generated £3.7bn in sales, up by £3bn over the past three years. Together, they employ 23,100 people, having added 11,600 jobs during that period. A further 81 companies disclosed plans to hire over the next 12 months, with around 4,300 roles expected to be created.
Fintech and energy set the pace
At the top of the list sits Abound, a lending fintech founded in 2020. The company recorded annual growth of 490 per cent over three years, making it both the fastest-growing software company and the fastest-growing tech firm overall. Abound uses artificial intelligence and bank data to offer loans outside traditional credit scoring models and generated £66.8m in sales in the last year.
Close behind is Fuse Energy, which ranked first in the hardware and other technology category and second overall. Founded by former Revolut executives, the renewable energy supplier reported annual growth of 484 per cent over three years, with sales of £129.7m in the most recent year. The founders reportedly took the business from start-up to unicorn status within three years.
Beyond the top two, the ranking points to continued expansion across fintech, artificial intelligence, energy, health technology and digital infrastructure. Nearly 70 per cent of the firms already trade internationally, while 58 per cent were founded in 2016 or later, underlining how young many of these high-growth businesses still are.
Jon Yeomans, business editor of The Sunday Times, reportedly said that despite a challenging economic backdrop, the sector continues to produce companies scaling at remarkable speed and exporting British innovation globally.
London leads, policy questions linger
Geographically, the list remains heavily concentrated in London. Of the 100 companies ranked, 57 are headquartered in the capital, followed by 14 in the South East and 11 in the East of England. Smaller clusters appear across the North West, South West, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the West Midlands.
The publication of the ranking comes alongside growing debate about the visibility and consistency of UK government support for the tech sector. Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association and organiser of the CES trade show, reportedly criticised the UK’s limited presence at the event, noting that British participation had fallen sharply since 2019, while European peers appeared more visible.
A government spokesperson, as quoted in a news report, said tech remains central to plans to modernise public services, grow the economy and raise productivity.
For now, the figures suggest that Britain’s fastest-growing tech firms are still hiring, selling and expanding abroad — even as questions remain about how visibly the UK is backing them on the global stage.
