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Prolific North Top 100 eCommerce Companies in the North

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Today we launch a brand new piece of research focusing on the fastest growing part of the North’s tech sector: ecommerce.

The Prolific North Top 100 eCommerce Companies in the North is jointly sponsored by Knight Corporate Finance and Barclays, with research compiled in association with Knight.

For the first time, it identifies the leading ecommerce companies in the region, ranked by revenue.

Speke-headquartered Shop Direct – the group behind brands including Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com – heads the list by some distance having enjoyed considerable success since switching to a pureplay digital retailer in 2015.

N Brown, the group behind brands including Jacamo and JD Williams, is the second biggest company by revenue, while another Manchester-based company, Rentalcars.com, makes up the top three.

In fact the North West dominates the list, with the leading Yorkshire-based ecommerce – Bradford-based corporate travel company Redfern – ranked at 11th. Across the whole of the top 100, 21 are based in Yorkshire.

The Top 100 eCommerce Companies in the North follows our other ground-breaking research features, which include the Top 50 Digital Agencies, the Top 50 Integrated Agencies and the Top In-house Communicators.

We have also just revealed the first confirmed speakers for eCommerce Show North, set to be the biggest ever gathering of eCommerce companies, vendors and suppliers ever held outside London, as well as the most recent companies to have signed up to exhibit.

Taking place over October 11th and 12th 2017 at EventCity in Manchester, this brand new event will have capacity for 4,000 attendees and 120 exhibiting businesses.

Prolific North Top 100 eCommerce Companies in the North

jointly sponsored by Knight Corporate Finance and Barclays

  Names Revenue £m EBIT £m Town / City Sub Sector Ownership
1 Shop Direct 1,861.0 222.0 Liverpool Online retailer PLC
2 N Brown 866.0 98.0 Manchester Clothing retailer – online and print PLC
3 Rentalcars.com 734.0 67.0 Manchester Car rental broker Owned by Priceline Group Inc
4 AO World 599.0 (2.0) Bolton Online electrical retailer PLC
5 Findel 411.0 15.0 Hyde Multi-channel retailer of home and educational products PLC
6 The Hut Group 334.0 21.0 Northwich Multi brand/channel retailer Private inc PE (Balderton)
7 MoneySuperMarket 316.0 94.0 Chester Financial products broker PLC
8 Park Group 302.0 10.4 Merseyside A group engaged in mail order and cash savings PLC
9 Boohoo 295.0 36.0 Manchester Online fashion retail AIM listed
10 Autotrader 281.0 172.0 Manchester Digital motoring advertiser PLC
11 Redfern Travel 252.0 4.0 Bradford Corporate travel Arizonaco Ltd (private)
12 Stella Travel 241.0 11.7 Cheshire Travel group behind brands such as Travelbag & Travel 2 Owned by Dinata
13 Ebuyer.com 189.0 2.0 York Online electrical and homewares retailer Vida Capital Partners
14 Ryman 128.0 10.0 Crewe Online and in-store stationery supplies Fivefathers Holdings Ltd (Cyprus)
15 Buy IT Direct 121.0 3.0 Huddersfield Online and mail order electrical retailer Private
16 Missguided 117.0 1.0 Manchester Online fashion retail Nakai Investments (Virgin Islands)
17 Freemans Plc 115.0 3.9 Bradford Plus size and fashion for older people Owned by Otto (Germany)
18 NyComm 82.0 3.4 Swinton Telecoms distributor Private
19 The Book People 71.8 8.0 Bangor Online retailer of books and other stationery Endless (PE)
20 KitBag 71.0 (7.0) Middleton Sports merchandise online and mail order Fanatics (US)
21 On The Beach 71.0 17.0 Stockport Online beach holiday retailer PLC
22 LateRooms 70.0 (15.0) Manchester Online travel broker Cox & Kings Ld (India)
23 Victoria Plum 70.0 (12.0) Hull Online bathroom/bedroom Private (inc TPG)
24 Music Magpie 61.0 2.0 Hazel Grove Second hand goods market place Private inc Northern Venture Trust
25 Better Bathrooms 59.0 (64.0) Leigh Multi-channel bathroom products retailer Private (inc BGF)
26 Destinology 59.0 1.1 Bolton Luxury online travel Owned by Saga
27 Gear4Music 56.0 4.0 York Online international retailer of musical instruments PLC
28 Euro Options 50.0 3.7 Littleborough IT equipment retailer/wholesaler Private
29 Nexus Vehicle 48.0 3.6 Pudsey Vehicle rental Private – Axis Top Co (Bowmark CP)
30 Parcel2Go 44.0 0.0 Bolton Online parcel delivery services Private
31 Overclockers 43.6 2.8 Newcastle U Lyme Gaming computers and peripherals Owned by Case King
32 The Big Word 43.0 (0.7) Leeds Language technology and translation services Private
33 Victorian Plumbing 42.2 2.2 Formby Multi-channel bathroom products retailer Private
34 SportsShoes.com 41.3 1.6 Shipley Online sports retailer Private
35 PC Specialist 38.0 0.5 Wakefield Manufacturer and retailer of computer equipment Private
36 Cartridge Save 36.9 2.9 Stockport Online retailer of printer cartridges Private
37 Dabs.com 36.0 0.6 Bolton Online electrical/IT retailer SS of BT
38 Pure Collection 31.0 0.2 Harrogate Multi channel fashion retailer, specialising in cashmere Private
39 Kiddicare 30.0 N/A Leeds Online nursery and children’s products retailer Dunelm PLC
40 Pretty Little Thing 30.0 N/A Manchester Women’s fashion 66% owned by Boohoo
41 Joe Browns 28.0 5.0 Leeds Online womens and menswear Private
42 Blue Bay Travel 28.0 1.8 Stoke Online Caribbean Travel Private Equity (LDC)
43 Zuto 23.0 (5.0) Macclesfield Car finance credit broker Private (Scottish Equity Partners)
44 Sykes Cottages 22.0 3.2 Chester Online travel broker – UK Private (linc Livingbridge)
45 Fatsoma 21.0 0.6 Manchester Concert ticketing Private Equity AXM
46 Direct Golf 20.8 0.5 Manchester Multi-channel retailer of sporting goods 25% owned by Sports Direct
47 Beauty Bay 20.3 1.0 Manchester Online cosmetics retailer Private
48 Bathroom Takeaway 20.0 N/A Manchester Online bathrooms Private
49 Fragrance Direct 19.0 0.8 Macclesfield Online fragrance and cosmetics retail Private
50 Planet X 18.3 0.2 Rotherham Online bicycle retailer Private
51 GettingPersonal.co.uk 18.0 3.7 Manchester Online personalised gifts Card Factory PLC
52 Techbuyer 17.0 1.7 Harrogate IT equipment retailer Private
53 Cyclesport North 17.0 0.7 Preston Bicycle importer and online retailer Private (inc True Capital)
54 OCF 17.0 0.8 Sheffield IT data storage and analytics Private
55 The 1st Stop Group 12.0 2.9 Blackpool Retail loans Private
56 Tyres On The Drive 12.0 N/A Holmes Chapel Online tyre retailer VC & Halfords
57 Chemist Direct 11.0 (3.0) Oldbury Online pharmacy supplies, dispensing chemist Merged with Pharmacy2U, investment from Atomico
58 Grafenia 10.8 N/A Manchester Printing Private
59 Country Attire 10.5 0.0 Preston Clothing for the countryside Private
60 LED Hut 10.0 (1.0) Manchester Online lighting retailer Private (Jersey)
61 Ice Lolly 8.9 0.9 Leeds Price comparison travel website Private Equity
62 A One Distribution 8.6 0.6 Bury B2B online computer components Private
63 Clothingsites 8.6 (2.0) Bury Online fashion retailer via several websites Private
64 Scan Coin 6.7 0.2 Salford B2B retailer of cash handling equipment USA based PLC
65 Ingleby 6.5 3.3 Crewe Sells B2B parts online SS on innovation group
66 In The Style 5-10 N/A Salford Social media-led fashion Private Equity Living Bridge
67 Misco 5-10 N/A Manchester IT Hardware retailer Private
68 Pink Boutique 5-10 N/A Newcastle Fashion retailer Private
69 The Superbike Factory 5-10 N/A Macclesfield Online motorbike retailer Private
70 The Car Buying Group 5-10 N/A Bradford Online car buying service Private
71 WhoCanFixMyCar 5-10 N/A North Shields Car mechanic aggregator Private Equity Active PE
72 Currentbody.com 4.6 N/A Cheadle Beauty products retailer Private
73 Ticketline 4.2 (0.1) Manchester Ticketing business Private
74 Spark Etail 3.9 0.1 Gateshead Ecommerce fulfillment platform Private
75 City Car Club 3.0 N/A Leeds Vehicle rental Enterprise PLC
76 Little Black Dress 3.0 neg Manchester Fashion retailer Private
77 My Parcel Delivery 2.4 (1.0) Manchester Parcel delivery Private inc Praetura and Northern Venture Trust
78 Toxic Fox 2.2 N/A Stockport Online gift retailer Private
79 Approved Foods <5 N/A Bradford Online retailer of clearance food and drink Private
80 Car 2 U <5 N/A Sunderland Vehicle rental specialising in 4×4 Private
81 Cliq Designs <5 N/A Rochdale Manufacturer Private
82 Contour Cosmetics <5 N/A Nantwich Cosmetics retailer Private
83 Curar Animal Theraputics <5 N/A Ouseburn Pet products Private
84 Digital High Street <5 N/A Brighouse Online homewares specialist Private
85 Dolphin Music <5 N/A Liverpool Musical instruments Private
86 Fallen Hero <5 N/A Scunthorpe Menswear retailer Private
87 HGS UK Trading <5 N/A Bury Wholesale supplies of household goods, lighting and cosmetics Private
88 Interrisk Solutions <5 N/A Wirral Legal services broker Private
89 JamJar Direct <5 N/A Whitefield Vehicle sales and leasing Private
90 Pimoroni <5 N/A Sheffield Sales of small IT products Angels
91 PJA Distribution <5 N/A Stockton-on-Tees Sale of mobile phone accessories Private
92 Predator Nutrition <5 N/A Leeds Nutrition products Private
93 Really Good Domains <5 N/A Hazel Grove Online car marketing Private
94 Sonik Sports <5 N/A Blyth Fishing tackle retailer Private
95 Cruise Compare <1 N/A Tyne & Wear Cruise comparison site Private
96 Glamorous Travel <1 N/A Manchester UK based travel operator Private
97 Juxdit <1 N/A Liverpool Sale of start up products over social media Private
98 Labels Sneak <1 N/A Leeds Branded clothing retail Private
99 Web Translations <1 N/A Leeds Online translations Private
100 Have we missed your company? If so, email david@prolificnorth.co.uk

See our other research tables:

The Prolific North Top 50 Digital Agencies

The Prolific North Top 50 PR Agencies

The Prolific North Top 50 Integrated Agencies

The Prolific North Top 100 Brands

The Prolific Northerners Top 100

The Prolific North Top 50 In-house Communicators

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