Huel makes nutritionally complete food: drinks, bars, instant meals and protein products. Serial entrepreneur Julian Hearn and James Collier founded the brand in 2015, and chief executive James McMaster joined two years later. In 2018, the Hertfordshire firm raised £20m from investor Highland Europe to launch new products and drive international growth. Huel has sold more than 200m meals to over 100 countries, and sales passed the £100m mark last year, when it generated adjusted EBITDA profits of £2m.
FEBE CRIBS – Huel
More Unemployables
How we pulled off the best Dragons’ Den deal in history and exited for £12.5m
Entrepreneurs Henry de Zoete and Will Hodson made Dragons’ Den history by netting the best cash-to-equity deal in the show’s history and a year later, they sold their business, for £12.5m. Business-wise, years don’t come much better. Read their full story and more about what they have planned next here…
My life after my £200m exit
You heard it here first – “Behind every successful entrepreneurial awards are incredible ambassadors”. Which is why we’re super proud to have the brilliant Juliet Barratt as FEBE’s Growth 100 founding ambassador. We couldn’t be luckier to have her onboard. From working in education, to co-founding Grenade in her spare bedroom which was sold in 2021 for £200m – Juliet Barratt stands for everything FEBE is about: Determination. Hustle. Authenticity. Welcome to the FEBE family Juliet!
“TRUST YOUR PEOPLE AND BELIEVE IN THEM”
SIX REASONS WHY GRIPPLE WENT INTO ORBIT… FEBE meets the entrepreneur who: Built a £100m company that can never be sold Encouraged his staff to invest in their business Made it illegal for accountants to take control In June 2018, Yorkshire entrepreneur Hugh Facey was at Buckingham Palace to receive his OBE. The businessman absorbed […]
How we blagged meetings with buyers to build our brand
Husband and wife team Manav and Rimi Thapar started LoveRaw: a plant based chocolate brand with £600 and a food processor. Today, the confectionery is sold in 20 countries, and stockists include Asda, Coop and WH Smith. LoveRaw secured £2m of funding from investor Blue Horizon Ventures in 2020, after rejecting an offer in the BBC’s Dragons’ Den.
I crave experiences and being a founder is the ultimate adventure
UpSkill Digital is a digital skills training agency catering for both businesses and individuals. Founded by Gori Yahaya in 2015, the company provides a wide range of training modules, such as digital marketing, Google Analytics, and social strategy. UpSkill Digital is also an alumnus of the Mayor’s International Business Programme, which aims to help businesses […]
ON TRACK TO £45M TURNOVER AND “I STILL DON’T SEE MYSELF AS SUCCESSFUL”
When Wayne Spriggs’ company, Lusso, was chosen to kit out the bathroom of The Equinox Hotel’s penthouse suite on Manhattan’s West Side in 2019, he couldn’t help but smile. Flashing through his mind were vivid memories of the two-bedroom houses he used to fix up in his hometown of Middlesbrough. The Equinox was a world away. Yet without starting out on those humble houses in England’s Northeast, the glamorous New York hotel project would never have come about. Moreover, if Wayne hadn’t taken that first step, Lusso – on track to turn over £45m this year – would not exist.