Universal Partners is a financial services firm for businesses and high-net-worth individuals. Co-founded by Oliver Carson and Dhaval Patel in 2017, the company specialises in cross-border payments and bespoke risk management services. Universal Partners has earned recognition for its growth, including a nomination for the Scale-Up Business of the Year at the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards, as well as securing a spot on the The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024 list. The company has experienced significant year on year growth since inception and recorded sales of £8.6m in 2023.
My teacher told me “you’ll either go to prison or be a millionaire”
OLI CARSON
CO- FOUNDER, universal partners
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‘To be extraordinary you need to be ‘extra’ ordinary’
A wardrobe malfunction with ill-fitting tights that would not stay up inspired Brigitte Read to set up this hosiery business in 2018. Snag Tights caters for a wide range of sizes from four to 36 and offers 1,500 product lines. The online retailer has diversified into leggings, T-shirts, skirts and swimwear and has more than 2m customers in 90 countries. The Scottish-based brand is now eyeing expansion in America.
BRIE READ
FOUNDER - SNAG TIGHTS
From nearly running out of cash…to becoming G100 number 1!
Founded by friends Purdy Rubin and Charlotte Figg and Purdy’s two sons, Jack and Charlie, Purdy & Figg is part of a new category of products at the intersection of household cleaning and wellness, with a range of sustainable, non-toxic, essential oil scented cleaning products. The company launched its core product ‘Counter Clean’ in 2022 […]
CHARLOTTE FIGG & PURDY, JAMES & CHARLIE RUBIN
Co-founders, Purdy & Figg
‘What creates good entrepreneurship? Obsession!’
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 […]
MORTEN TOFT BECH
FOUNDER - MEATLESS FARM
HOW A SHOP IN BOLTON GREW INTO A £30M GLOBAL FINTECH
Many people begin their lives with uncertainty, unsure of the paths they will take or the heights they will reach. This is the story of Aftab, whose story is one of extraordinary achievement and perseverance in the face of uncertainty and daunting challenges. Ace Money Transfer started out as the most unprepossessing of fledglings but […]
RASHID ASHRAF
Co-Founder, ACE MONEY TRANSFER
Great culture is about hiring great people. Nothing else.
Dock & Bay was created in 2015 to reinvent the beach towel. The company’s lightweight towels are made from recycled plastic bottles and are quick drying, compact and sand repellent. In 2017, co-founders Andy Jefferies and Ben Muller appeared on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, securing a £75,000 investment from Deborah Meaden…
Andy Jefferies
Co-founder - Dock & Bay
How I overcame illness, tragedy and humiliation to build a multimillion-pound global brand
Rob Law has conquered more challenges than most, including family tragedy, personal illness and humiliation on national TV. Here, Rob reveals the tools he uses to dance around seemingly immovable obstacles and we uncover why having these tools in your kitbag is often the difference between success and failure…
Rob Law MBE
Founder - Trunki