Dayla Drinks is EAST OF ENGLAND’s fastest growing retailer, according to Retail Index, a definitive analysis of revenue growth over the past two years. The Aylesbury -based brand, which Distributes a wide range of beverages, snacks, and bar supplies., has grown at a compound annual rate of 81% over the past two years, hitting £46.3m in revenues last year.

9 companies out of the top 100 companies were based in EAST OF ENGLAND

In the national list, there was a strong performance among categories catering to discretionary, ‘emotional’ spending linked to health and wellbeing, hobbies, travel, pet products and the great outdoors.

Consumers are also splashing out on dressing up, after the enforced casualness of Covid lockdowns. Three of the 20 businesses in our largest sector, fashion, are men’s formalwear companies – Moss Bros, Brooks Taverner and Skopes – while in womenswear, designer brands Self-Portrait and Vivienne Westwood are thriving on the revival of social occasions, with the latter pulling of the rare feat of outliving its late, eponymous founder.

Interestingly, only 24 businesses on the list had taken venture capital, with another four listing on the stock market, while 71 were bootstrapped, suggesting either that Britain’s most promising retailers are underfunded, or that they just don’t need external finance to succeed.

A notable feature of this year’s inaugural Retail Index is the preponderance of certified B-Corps. These businesses have a formal purpose that goes beyond shareholder value, and their progress against social and environmental objectives is objectively verified. There are only 2,000 in the UK, out of 1.4 million employers, meaning the top 100 retailers are 54 times more likely to be a B Corp than the average company is.
The overall winner was Manchester-based performance sportswear brand Castore, which has expanded nearly seven-fold since 2021 to £115 million in sales last year.