Hot on the heels of its UK Unicorn report, Hurun recognises the entrepreneurs and innovators aged under 40 driving Britain’s £82 billion business empire
In February of this year, global research group the Hurun Research Institute published a report showcasing the UK as the ‘Unicorn Hub of Europe’.
Underlining the UK’s position as a burgeoning global hotpot for wealth creation and innovation, Hurun’s research showed the combined values of British Unicorns accumulate to $172 billion, tripling from $54 billion in 2020. The UK’s ‘Future Unicorns’ – Gazelles and Cheetahs – were, at the time of the February report, worth $46 billion.
The report identified 53 British Hurun Unicorns, in addition to 45 Hurun Gazelles and 39 Hurun Cheetahs. Hurun defines a Unicorn and Future Unicorn (Gazelle or Cheetah) as startups from the 2000s, not yet listed and worth at least $1 billion (Hurun Unicorns), or most likely to go unicorn’ within three years (Hurun Gazelles) or five years (Hurun Cheetahs).
The research revealed London to be the Unicorn capital of Europe, and the fifth leading Unicorn city in the world, placing it above rivals like Paris and Berlin. London is home to the highest proportion of British Unicorns and Future Unicorns featured, with nearly 80% of the startups (108) from the capital, followed by Cambridge (6), and Oxford and Bristol (3 each).
When it comes to age, the research revealed the average age of the founders of the Hurun Unicorns, Hurun Gazelles and Hurun Cheetahs to be 49 years old, four years older than the average age (45) of the founders featured on the ‘Hurun Global Unicorns Index 2024’.
Business powerhouses under 40
Now, in its latest research Hurun has released the inaugural ‘Hurun UK Under40s2024’, showcasing pioneering entrepreneurs in the UK creating thousands of jobs and powering economic growth.
The 110 entrepreneurs have together set up businesses with a combined value of £82 billion and between them created more than 60,500 jobs. The average value of each of the companies included is £1.32 billion. For a founder to appear in one of Hurun’s Under40s lists, a person would need to have either founded or co-founded a company considered to be worth at least $100 million.
Digital money management service Revolut is the most valuable company to appear after securing a $45 billion valuation, co-founded in 2015 by Nick Storonsky.
Ben Francis, the university dropout who founded the ath-leisure brand Gymshark, and Euan Blair, the son of former prime minister Tony Blair, are some of the high-profile business stars to appear in Hurun’s research. The younger Blair’s skills venture, Multiverse has been valued at nearly £1.4 billion.
Forty per cent of the entrepreneurs listed have founded a unicorn – a business worth at least $1 billion. Amongst the 44 unicorn founders is Ben Maruthappu who set up patient care app Cera, which has secured contracts with over 300 NHS trusts and is said to be saving the NHS £1 million a day. Fellow unicorns to feature include Fintech credit business Lendable, virtual worlds developer Improbable, insurer Marshmallow, payments provider Paddle and driverless car tech firm Wayve.
Zilch is thought to be the fastest company to achieve unicorn status – achieving a $1 billion valuation within 14 months of launch, with the consumer credit provider founded by Philip Belamant.
Financial Services is the best-represented part of the economy, accounting for 25% of the 110 entries. There were also strong pools for the Software and Services sector (21%), as well as the Consumer Goods sector (12%).
The capital dominated the report, with seventy-nine of the 110 entries – more than 70% – owing their place in the research to a London-based business. This was an even greater proportion than Hurun’s recent UK Under 30 and Under 35 lists, where 66% and 48% of the entries stemmed from the capital retrospectively.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, said: “These young business leaders are the future of the British economy. It takes courage to start a business and a lot more to grow to the scale of those we feature here. Each of our founders has built a company worth $100 million – some many multiples of that number.
“The diversity within this list is extraordinary. There are those with PhDs who studied at the world’s top universities and others who left school with few qualifications. There are some building great companies by harnessing AI and similar cutting-edge technologies, others creating valuable enterprises by selling everyday items such as makeup, gym wear and lingerie.”
The North West was the second-best represented part of the country with 10 entries in the Under 40s. These included Phil and Tom Beahon, who set up Castore, the fast-growing sports kit manufacturer which has attracted investment from tennis legend, Andy Murray. Another North West based entrepreneur is Alex Solomou, the boss of the media group behind viral video platform LADbible.
The list also includes ‘Next generation’ entries, which are required to manage investments or revenues of $200 million to qualify. Fawn James, a director of London property group Soho Estates, is one of 10 “next generation” entries to make the cut. Her company was initially set up by her grandfather, the Soho legend Paul Raymond.
Others appearing in Hurun’s research who have picked up the reins of their family’s business include Alex and David Campbell, brothers who run a healthcare business that provided Covid testing kits to the NHS during the pandemic.
More than a quarter (26.4%) of the list are not British citizens, emphasising the strong pull the UK has to entrepreneurs from overseas. Out of the foreign entrepreneurs, China and Germany represent the largest contingents, each with four.
Those who were born overseas and started their businesses here include Eric Liu, the Chinese-born founder of the food delivery service HungryPanda, and Bulgarian national Roma Savova, the chief executive of Pension Bee, a retirement planning service now worth more than £370 million.
Hoogewerf added: “Our UK research found a larger proportion of entrepreneurs from overseas than we’ve found from our similar studies in other countries. Britain clearly is a magnet for ambitious young people who want to start and grow their businesses.
“Some of these founders came here to study at university and then stayed. Others are drawn here because of the opportunities to find investment or meet like-minded people to start something up with. It’s vital that this entrepreneurial ecosystem is protected – by creating jobs, generating tax and driving economic growth.”
For a founder to appear in Hurun’s Under40s lists, a person would need to have either founded or co-founded a company considered to be worth at least $100 million – a standard benchmark across the world. “Next generation” entries are required to manage investments or revenues of $200 million to qualify.
The 2024 Hurun UK Under40s are part of a family of more than 3,000 young entrepreneurs from five countries, including China, India, US and Canada. The Hurun Uth series starts with the Under30s and moves through to the Under35s and Under40s.
As mentioned above, the list follows the recent release of the Hurun UK Unicorns and Future Unicorns Index 2024. The business leaders featuring on the ‘Hurun UK Under40s’ and the ‘Hurun UK Unicorns and Future Unicorns Index 2024’ were celebrated recently at a private awards forum in London, sponsored by global smart electric vehicle company NIO, and drink supported by premium vodka brand Golden Egg.