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Shakeup Cosmetics
Beijing-born twins Jake Xu and Shane Carnell-Xu launched this men’s cosmetics brand in 2019 after raising funds from angel investors Sally Preston and Neil Mather of Kiddylicious, the children’s snack business. Bestsellers in Shakeup’s skincare and makeup range include moisturiser, under eye concealer and face masks. The brand is stocked by national and overseas retailers, such as Harvey Nichols, Superdrug and Australia’s Myer, and it recently launched its new Face 4ward range in China. The Xu brothers previously set up READY, a creative agency based in Bath.
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Plum Play
Plum Play was founded by Jonathan and Diane Schaffer in 1988. The company’s first toy product launched over 30 years ago and Plum Play remains a family run business specialising in designing, manufacturing and selling outdoor play equipment. Paul Schaffer grew up watching his parents build the Plum brand and now runs the business as managing director. The Lincolnshire-based company has offices in Hong Kong and Sydney and in 2020 secured a £4.2m financing package from Santander to drive overseas growth. Plum exports to more than 50 countries and stockists include Harrods and John Lewis.
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Napier
This London-based firm helps organisations to combat financial crime and comply with regulations. Its anti-money laundering platform uses artificial intelligence to screen its clients’ customers and monitor transactions for suspicious activity. Napier has more than 200 clients, including banks such as HSBC, payment providers like Trustly, and cryptocurrency firms. The business was founded in 2015 by chief executive Julian Dixon and has offices on four continents. Former HSBC chief operations officer Andy Maguire joined as chairman last year.
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Meatless Farm
This year, Meatless Farm launched a vegan steak made from pea protein, adding to its range of plant-based food that includes meat free mince, burgers and chicken. Danish entrepreneur Morten Toft Bech founded the Leeds-based business in 2016. It opened production hubs in the Netherlands and Canada last year and now exports to more than 20 countries. Its products are available in retailers and foodservice outlets, such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Pret and Fridays restaurants. Meatless Farm has raised £38m to date, including £3.3m on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube last year. Investors include cyclist Mark Cavendish.
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Magic Light Pictures
Magic Light has produced nine animated Christmas specials for the BBC based on children’s books by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, including The Gruffalo and Superworm. Its other credits include the children’s animated series Pip and Posy, which premiered on Channel 5 last year. The London firm’s productions are available in more than 50 languages and 180 countries. It also licenses brands, such as The Gruffalo, to partners including clothing retailer Joules, and Chessington World of Adventures, home to The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure. Magic Light is led by joint managing directors Martin Pope and Michael Rose, who cofounded the company in 2003.
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LS Productions
Chief executive Marie Owen founded this business in 2006 from her kitchen table. Today, it provides location and production services from hubs in Edinburgh, Manchester and London. As one of the UK’s leading production services companies, LS Productions also produces globally, with shoots planned in Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, Istanbul and Tenerife. The company specialises in film and television, commercials, music videos, fashion, and sports campaigns. Clients include global brands, studios and streamers such as Aston Martin, Adidas, HBO, Netflix, and Valentino, and feature A-list talent like Meryl Streep, Harry Styles, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zendaya.