Living Ventures makes list of fastest growing companies

Restaurant and bar operator Living Ventures is the UK's 34th fastest-growing company and highest placed hospitality operator in the Sunday Times top 100.

The list ranks companies according to increases in sales figures between 2001 and 2004.

Sales at the 35-strong Living Ventures group jumped from £2.47m in 2001 to £19.55m last year.

This represented annual sales growth of 99.25% and was helped in part by its purchase of the Est Est Est restaurant chain from The Restaurant Group during the summer.

Warwickshire-based food service company Unique Catering was the next hospitality representative at 43.

The company saw its sales rocket by 90.6% per year over the three-year period, growing from £777,000 to £5.4m.

Gordon Ramsay Holdings was at 54, with sales up from £4.95m to £30.95m in the period.

But, Carluccio's, which intends to list on the Alternative Investment market this month, slipped from 48 last year to 74. Sales rose in the assessment period by 66.3% per year to £27.8m.

Other representatives of the food and drink industry on the list were coffee machine operator Coffee Nation (13) and smoothie-maker Innocent (21).

By Tom Bill

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