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Dr.PAWPAW
Dr.PAWPAW was founded in 2013 by husband-and-wife team Johnny and Pauline Paterson as they wanted to create a natural solution to soothe their daughter’s eczema. Today, the company’s products are available in nearly 50 countries and in the year to October 2023 they hit sales of £8.5m. Dr.PAWPAW has won over 40 global awards, and was listed in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work in 2024. The company’s products are vegan, and are created with sustainable, natural ingredients and with eco-conscious packaging. Recently, Dr.PAWPAW has launched into Australia and has plans for European expansion in France and Germany, as well as the Middle East.
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Genpower
Genpower operates as a global importer and distributor of JCB tools and Hyundai power products. Founded in 2006 by husband and
wife team, Lisa and Roland Llewellin, they now have a team of over 125 people. The company is based in Pembrokeshire, Wales and
specialises in a wide range of equipment, from garden machinery to power tools and pressure washers. Since its launch, the company
has opened three distribution centres and expanded its catalogue to include over 350 product lines across its brands. -
Vivobarefoot
Founded in 2012 by two seventh generation cobblers, Galahad and Asher Clark, Vivobarefoot is a barefoot footwear company. The company draws upon barefoot design principles and manufacture wide, thin and flexible shoes that are designed to improve foot health and natural movement. As a certified B Corp, Vivobarefoot focuses on its social and environmental impact, and the company also offer a number of natural health courses for its community that centre around holistic transitions, nature and natural rhythms.
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iamproperty
iamproperty works with estate agents by providing a range of products and solutions that help clients tackle key challenges such as time, revenues, efficiencies, and risk. Newcastle-based iamproperty’s solutions include CRM, compliance, onboarding and conveyancing. Founded by managing directors Jamie Cooke and Ben Ridgway in 2009, the company works with over 6,000 estate agency branches across the UK. Since 2020, the company’s team has tripled in size, now employing over 600 people. In 2023 LDC exited its investment in iamproperty to the private equity company Perwyn.
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Thomas Franks
Founded in 2004, by Frank Bothwell, Thomas Franks is a contract catering company. The company provides dining services including café concepts, fine dining, hospitality, and event catering, as well as supplying food for schools across the UK and Europe, particularly boarding schools. Thomas Franks is focussed on sustainability which means they work with local, family-owned regional suppliers to support local communities and to reduce their carbon footprint and food miles. They also state that 100% of the company’s food waste is composted. Winning new client contracts combined with the impact of opening a London division helped sales rise to £72.6m in September 2023.
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Hilltop Honey
Hilltop is a honey manufacturer based in Powys, Wales. It sells its products to most major supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, as well as online. The brand was founded by managing director Scott Davies in 2011 – then aged 22 – after a back injury left him unable to work. He started jarring and labelling honey by hand at home, and his break came in 2015 when Holland & Barrett ordered 25,000 jars. Business growth has been supported by a diversification in products, which now, in addition to honey, also includes maple syrup, agave, and beauty items plus new listings including launching in ASDA this year.