Hurun UK Under40s 2024

[London: 11 March 2025]: Global research group, The Hurun Research Institute today releases the inaugural Hurun UK Under40s 2024, 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 US$100 million.

 

Digital money management service Revolut is the most valuable company to appear after securing a $45bn 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. 

 

40% 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 $100m - 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 US$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 US$100 million - a standard benchmark across the world. “Next generation” entries are required to manage investments or revenues of US$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.

 

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 at an awards forum in London at a private club at 11 Brick Street on Monday 10 March 2025, sponsored by global smart electric vehicle company NIO; and drink supported by premium vodka brand Golden Egg.

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About NIO 

 

 

 

NIO is a global smart electric vehicle company founded in November 2014. Dedicated to shaping a sustainable and brighter future together by providing high-performance smart electric vehicles and exceptional user experiences, NIO is the first car company listed on the NYSE, HKEX and SGX. NIO currently has three major brands under its umbrella: NIO, ONVO and firefly. 

 

Ten years into establishment, NIO is now one of the leading companies in the global premium smart electric vehicle market, committed to fostering its own research and development capabilities for core technologies. As of the end of December 2024, the company had filed for and obtained over 9,800 patents. Additionally, NIO has developed NIO Full Stack, a collection of 12 technology domains. 

 

NIO has R&D and manufacturing facilities in Shanghai, Hefei, Beijing, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan, San Jose, Munich, Oxford, Berlin, Budapest, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. The company has also established sales and service networks in China, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, the UAE, Israel and Azerbaijan. 

 

NIO Inc. currently offers nine premium smart electric vehicle models under the NIO brand and one smart electric vehicle under the ONVO brand. firefly has started its pre-orders in China. As of January 31, 2025, NIO Inc. had delivered a total of 685,427 vehicles, leading the premium BEV segment priced above RMB 300,000. 

 

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About Golden Egg

 

 

 

Golden Egg is a super premium, supremely smooth vodka. Crafted from the highest quality English grain, Golden Egg vodka undergoes a meticulous process of double distillation and triple filtration, resulting in a supremely smooth character. Enhanced with an infusion of premium local Berkshire honey acting as a natural smoothing agent, it boasts a distinctive and refined mouthfeel.

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Detailed Descriptions of the Hurun UK Under40s

 

Alistair Adams

 

Adams founded Elevate with Shaun Gibson and Thom Seddon. The Manchester-based business has helped deliver broadband to thousands of homes and four years ago raised more than £63m of investment.

 

Sophie Adelman

 

Adelman co-founded Multiverse with Euan Blair. The London-based ed-tech firm uses artificial intelligence to match young people with businesses offering apprenticeships. An investment round valued the London-based business at nearly £1.4bn,

 

Ruhul Amin

 

Amin was one of three Oxford graduates to set up Onfido. The facial recognition software operation was sold for around $650m in early 2024.

 

Joe Andrews

 

Andrews is head of product at Aztec Protocol. The London-based app-developer raised more than $100m of funding in late 2022.

 

Charles Armitage

 

Armitage, a former doctor, co-founded Florence Healthcare, which helps hospitals and care homes find vetted workers to work unfilled shifts. Annual revenues have topped £100m.

 

Robin Arora

 

Arora is the youngest of three brothers behind the discount retailer B&M. Robin was a director of various companies across the group for 14 years.

 

James Asquith

 

Asquith co-founded and runs Holiday Swap, a service allowing users to book or let vacation accommodation. Funding at a $400m valuation has been raised. 

 

Laurence Bargery

 

AccuRx provides SMS alerts services and video conferencing for GP surgeries. Bargery teamed up with Jacob Haddad to launch the healthcare app. AccuRx raised £27.5 million of investment in 2021 and has grown turnover to £32.7m.

 

Phil Beahon

 

After accepting his dream of becoming a professional cricketer would not come true, Beahon set up his premium sportswear label with his brother Tom. Castore has attracted investment from tennis star Sir Andy Murray and grown annual sales to £190.3m.

 

Thomas Beahon

 

Beahon and his brother Phil set up Castore, the Manchester-based sportswear label. A fundraising in late 2023 valued the operation at almost £1 billion.

 

Edward Beccle

 

Beccle co-founded Glorify, an app that helps Christians follow daily habits of worship and scripture readings. A £29.4 million fundraising recently valued the business at £184 million. He sold his earlier mentoring service to the coaching firm Hintsa in 2021.

 

Fateha Begum

 

Begum teamed up with her husband Ayman Rahman to found Dare International. Annual revenues of £252.3m were posted in 2023. Begum also now works as a start-up mentor.

 

Philip Belamant

 

Zilch is thought to be the fastest company to achieve unicorn status - achieving a $1bn valuation within 14 months of launch. Belamant co-founded the consumer credit provider, helping oversee a fundraising that valued the fintech at £1.65bn.

 

Michael Bell

 

Bell's parents Graham and Alison founded the dealership group Available Car. Their son Michael has been chief executive since 2019, growing annual sales by nearly 40% since he’s been at the wheel.

 

David Benigson

 

Benigson is chief executive and a co-founder of Signal AI, a service used by 40% of Fortune companies that analyses data from conventional and social media. The London-based tech firm has raised £77m of funding.

 

Euan Blair

 

A son of former prime minister Sir Tony, Blair co-founded Multiverse. The London-based ed-tech firm uses artificial intelligence to match young people with businesses offering apprenticeships and boost skills amongst existing staff. An investment round valued the London-based business at nearly £1.4bn.

 

Tom Blomfield

 

Blomfield has co-founded two unicorns: the payments firm GoCardless and the challenger bank Monzo. He now describes himself as a “recovering tech founder” and is working for the US start-up advisor Y Combinator.

 

Timo Boldt

 

Boldt co-founded the recipe box delivery service Gousto. The London-based operation turns over more than £300m a year and attracted investment at a £1.4bn valuation in 2022.

 

Phil Boyle

 

Vaping products manufacturer Flavour Warehouse has almost doubled sales to £170m over the past two years. Boyle co-founded the Lancashire-based business.

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Jordan Brompton

 

myenergi makes electric vehicle chargers and other products associated with renewable energy. Brompton co-founded the business, chalking up revenues of £55.7m in 2023-24.

 

Alessandra Brownsword-Matthews

 

Brownsword Hotels owns the Bath Priory, Amberley Castle and a portfolio of other luxurious retreats. Alessandra has picked up the ownership of the business from her parents Andrew and Christina.

 

Alessio Bruni

 

Bruni set up Heroes with his twin brother Riccardo. Their collection of more than 20 online retailers has raised £200m funding. 

Riccardo Bruni

 

Bruni set up Heroes with his twin brother Alessio. Their aggregator helps online retailers boost sales and grew sales to £82.2m in 2023. 

 

Dmitry Bukhman

 

Bukhman and his older brother Igor started Playrix with a PC given to them by their grandfather. Born in Russia, the pair live in London and their video gaming giant should be worth at least $10bn.

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Alex Campbell

 

Campbell and his two brothers Alastair and David picked up the reins of SureScreen from their father ten years ago. The Midlands healthcare firm was the first and only UK firm to produce lateral flow tests for the NHS during the Covid pandemic. Annual sales have reached £177m.

 

David Campbell

 

The medical diagnostics firm SureScreen won NHS contracts to supply lateral flow tests during the Covid pandemic. Campbell and his brother Alastair and Alex have been directors of the business for 10 years. Their father founded the business.

 

Tom Carter

 

Ultraleap's virtual reality tech allows users to operate screens with just a wave of a hand. Carter founded the operation and has raised more than £100m of funding. 

 

James Carter

 

Carter set up Gousto with Timo Boldt. The recipe box delivery service was valued at £1.4bn by a 2022 fundraising. Carter has now left the business.

 

Adrien Cohen

 

Cohen co-founded and serves as president of Tractable, a tech firm harnessing artificial intelligence to process insurance claims. A 2021 fundraising has valued the operation at $1bn. 

 

Henry Costa

 

Costa co-founded Glorify, an app that helps Christians follow daily habits of worship and scripture readings. A £29.4 million fundraising valued the business at £184 million.

 

Christopher Coyle

 

Coyle has been a director of his family’s recruitment business for more than 20 years. He runs a division specialising in the health and education sectors. Turnover at the wider group now approaches £200m.

 

Sebastien Cross

 

Cross founded and serves as chief executive of BeZero, an agency that helps corporations understand the scale and financial cost of their carbon emissions. A $50m fundraising has valued the operation at $2bn.

 

Alexandre Dalyac

 

Tractable harnesses artificial intelligence to process insurance claims faster and more safely. Dalyac co-founded and runs the business, which was valued at $1bn in a recent fundraising.

 

Freya Dawson

 

Dawson has worked for her family’s vehicle hire group since 2011 and has served as property director for six years. She has been overseeing the creation of a new corporate headquarters for the £600m group, due for completion in 2026. 

 

Bocheng Du

 

Du co-founded HungryPanda, laying the groundwork for the food delivery service while completing his MBA at the University of Huddersfield. He has overseen the business’s expansion into North America, Australia and New Zealand.

 

Tosin Eniolorunda

 

Nigerian-born banker Eniolorunda co-founded Moniepoint. A fundraising in late 2024 secured unicorn status for the London-based payments firm. 

 

Kai Feller

 

Bark.com is an online marketplace where accountants, personal trainers and a wide range of other professionals advertise their services. Feller co-founded the outfit and grew annual turnover to £81.9m in 2023.

 

Ben Francis

 

University dropout Francis set up Gymshark with Lewis Morgan from his parents’ house in 2012. Eight years later the pair sold a stake to US investor General Atlantic valuing the ath-leisure clothing brand at around £1bn.

 

Harry Franks

 

Franks founded Zego, a commercial motor insurer providing cover for Uber drivers and Deliveroo riders. A fundraising in 2021 valued the operation a $1.1bn. He has now stepped down as chief executive but remains a substantial shareholder.

 

Michael Gietzen

 

Gietzen transformed his family’s events business into a multinational operation turning over nearly £200m. Over the years the Eastbourne-based business has worked on the King’s coronation, London’s New Year celebrations and the UN Climate Change Conference.

 

Tom Grogan

 

Grogan teamed up with Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin to launch the UK version of the US fast food chain Wingstop - despite having no experience of operating restaurants. A private equity deal in late 2024 valued the business at more than £400m.

 

George Heaton 

 

Heaton set up his streetwear fashion label Represent with his brother Mike in 2011. Sales reached £80.8m in 2023.

 

Mike Heaton 

 

Heaton set up his upmarket streetwear fashion label Represent with his brother George in 2011. Profits climbed to £13.1m in 2023.

 

James Hind

 

Hind set up the online car dealing service Carwow. A fundraising valued the business at £250m.

 

Barney Hussey-Yeo

 

Cleo is an app-based service that tracks users' spending, praising or teasing those who keep to or break their spending goals. Hussey-Yeo founded the business in 2016. A fundraising has valued the operation at $500m. 

 

Jianshu Gao

 

Gao co-founded HungryPanda, spearheading the food delivery service's international expansion. He has a PhD in metallurgy. 

 

Tom Gearing

 

Gearing started Cult Wines with his father Philip. Their London-based investment operation has grown annual revenues to more than £87m and has operations in Hong Kong, North America and Dubai. 

 

David Goate 

 

Goate teamed up with twins Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham to set up the insurer Marshmallow. A fundraising in 2021 valued the specialist car cover firm at £900m.

 

Jacob Haddad 

 

AccuRx provides software which allows doctors to text patients securely to relay test results and arrange appointments. Haddad set up the business with Laurence Bargery. The healthcare app has grown turnover to £32.7m.

 

Fawn James

 

James was in her mid twenties when she inherited Soho Estates, the property empire built up by her nightclub-owning grandfather Paul Raymond. She serves as a director of the business and has helped grow the value of the company’s offices, hotels and restaurants to more than £1.1 billion.

 

Eamon Jubbawy

 

Jubbawy co-founded the digital ID firm Onfido, selling the business for around $650m in early 2024. He has raised $25m of seed funding for Isometric, a start-up helping companies reduce their impact on the environment.

 

Daisy Kalnina

 

Latvian-born Kalnina set up her nail polish venture after becoming frustrated with the quality of existing products. She quickly landed a partnership with London Fashion Week and has grown annual sales to more than £31m.

 

Vishal Karia

 

Affinity Fragrances supplies perfumes and other cosmetics to high street retailers and supermarkets. Karia started the business in 2018 and has already grown annual turnover to £116.5m.

 

Husayn Kassai

 

Kassai sold Onfido for around $650m in early 2024. He co-founded the ID verification software business with two other Oxford graduates and owned 8% of the shares at the time of the deal.

 

Alex Kendall

 

Wayve develops software used in driverless cars. Kendall is chief executive of the business and raised $200m of investment in 2017.

 

Oliver Kent-Braham

 

Kent-Braham and his twin brother Alexander have grown sales at their specialist insurer Marshmallow to more than £184m. A £62m fundraising in 2021 valued the business at £900m.

 

Alexander Kent-Braham

 

Kent-Braham and his twin brother Oliver launched Marshmallow, the first unicorn to be created by black British-born entrepreneurs. A fundraising in 2021 valued the specialist insurer at £900m.

 

Martin Kissinger

 

Kissinger set up Lendable, a provider of fast loans to consumers and businesses, with Victoria van Lennep. A fundraising in 2021 secured unicorn status.

 

Felix Ike

 

Nigerian-born banker Ike co-founded Moniepoint. A fundraising in late 2024 secured unicorn status. 

 

Colette Laxton

 

Laxton co-founded The Inkey List in 2018, setting out to be more transparent about the ingredients of skincare than many existing brands. The brand's revenues now exceed £75m and Unilever has bought a majority stake.

 

Peter Lipka

 

Ex-Goldman Sachs developer Lipka set up virtual worlds outfit Improbable with Herman Narula and Rob Whitehead. A 2022 fundraising valued the business at nearly £2.6bn. 

 

Eric Liu

 

Liu, a Chinese national, set up Asian food delivery service HungryPanda. The London-based operation raised further investment at a $500m valuation in 2024. 

 

Alex Loven

 

Catching the bug for retail at the age of 13 by selling a cricket bat he sourced on eBay to a school friend, Loven’s online retailer Net World Sports has made annual profits of £13.9m over the past year. He has an MBE for services to the economy and community of his home town of Wrexham.

 

Luca Martinetti

 

Italian Martinetti is chief technology officer and a co-founder of TrueLayer. The online payments platform achieved unicorn status in a 2021 fundraising.

 

Daniel Marsden

 

Marsden and his wife Melanie began their online lingerie retailer by spending £1,000 on making 100 bras from their home. Lounge Underwear’s revenues have increased to £67.9m.

 

Melanie Marsden

 

Marsden and her husband Daniel set up the online lingerie retailer Lounge Underwear in 2015. Canny use of social media has helped drive annual sales to £67.9m.

 

Miguel Martinez

 

Martinez co-founded Signal AI, a platform used by Deloitte, HSBC, Volvo and many other businesses to analyse conventional and new media coverage. He remains a non-exec director of the business, helping secure £77m of funding. Spanish-born Martinez is a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Essex and is currently the Director of Innovation and AI in Law Business Research, a technology-driven information services business powering the global Legal, IP and GRC markets."

 

Ben Maruthappu

 

Cera is an app-based service that allows care staff to track a patient's condition and needs. Maruthappa founded the business and has secured contracts with 300 NHS trusts. A fundraising earlier this year secured unicorn status. 

 

Giuseppe Mazza

 

Mazza has attracted investment from hedge fund billionaire Michael Platt for Engitix, a developer of treatments for tumours and inflammatory bowel disease. The London-based biotech has been valued at $300m. 

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Steven Meersman

 

Zenobe works with bus operators, logistics firms and other companies to help with the transition to electric vehicles. Meersman co-founded the London-based business in 2017 and remains a director. A fundraising has valued the operation at £1bn.

 

Nikola Mrkšić

 

PolyAI provides voice services for virtual assistants powered by AI and has been valued at $500m. Mrkšić co-founded the venture after developing his machine learning skills at Apple.

 

Charlie Morgan

 

Morgan set up the fashionable drinks brand AU Vodka with school friend Jackson Quinn. Sales climbed to £54m in 2022-23.

 

Lewis Morgan

 

Morgan co-founded Gymshark with his school friend Ben Francis. After selling his stake in the £1bn clothing brand in 2020, he moved into property and set up construction firm Ernest Cole.

 

Herman Narula

 

Delhi-born Narula set up Improbable Worlds with Peter Lipka and Rob Whitehead. The virtual worlds developer was valued at £2.57bn in a 2022 fundraising.

 

Eccie Newton

 

Newton and her sister Gini founded food delivery service Karma Cans, which delivers healthy lunches to offices. They later launched Karma Kitchen, which assembles co-working and commercial space for food businesses and in 2020 attracted more than £250 million of investment to fund new kitchens.

 

Gini Newton

 

Newton and her sister Ecci founded food delivery service Karma Cans, which delivers healthy lunches to offices. They later launched Karma Kitchen, which assembles co-working and commercial space for food businesses and in 2020 attracted more than £250 million of investment to fund new kitchens.

 

Christian Owens

 

Learning to code from YouTube videos in his teens, Owens founded Paddle after leaving school at 16. The online payments firm has been valued at £1.1bn. He has now stepped off the board of Paddle but continues to advise the group on product and strategy.

 

Paul Pamment

 

Pamment co-founded and until September 2023 served as chief technology officer of Lendable, a provider of fast loans to consumers and businesses. A fundraising in 2021 secured unicorn status.

 

Ralph Payne

 

Payne co-founded the crypto security outfit Copper. The London-based firm has been valued at £1.5bn and is now chaired by former chancellor Lord Hammond. Payne now works for Nemean Services, another firm specialising in secure storage of digital assets.

 

Chris Phillips

 

Phillips sold his first web hosting business when he was 20. That would provide the capital to start his tech and real estate investment house Just Develop It. The operation owns 400 properties, has invested in more than 100 start-ups and has net assets of £232m.

 

Tom Walton-Pocock

 

Application developer Aztec raised $100m of funding in late 2022. Pocock co-founded the operation with Joe Andrews and Zachary Williamson.

 

Jackson Quinn

 

Quinn set up AU Vodka, a Swansea drinks business in 2016. Annual sales have reached £54m. 

 

Ayman Rahman

 

Rahman co-founded energy trading firm Dare International with his wife Fateha Begum. There were revenues of £252.3m in 2023.

 

Razvan Ranca

 

Ranca is chief technology officer at Tractable, a unicorn employing artificial intelligence to process insurance claims faster and more safely. 

 

Tommy Ricketts

 

Ricketts founded and serves as chief executive of BeZero Cabon, an agency that helps corporates understand the scale and financial cost of their carbon emissions. A $50m fundraising valued the operation at $2bn.

 

Matt Robinson

 

Robinson co-founded the payments unicorn GoCardless with Hiroki Takeuchi and Tom Blomfield. He later set up Nested, a tech-enabled estate agent.

 

Harrison Rose

 

Rose co-founded payments unicorn Paddle with Christian Owens. He has now set up Goodfit, a data-driven consultancy helping companies boost sales. 

 

Sten Saar

 

Saar founded Zego, a commercial motor insurer providing cover for Uber drivers and Deliveroo riders. A fundraising in 2021 valued the operation at $1.1bn. He has taken over as chief executive from co-founder Harry Franks.

 

Herman Sahota

 

Sahota is one of a trio of entrepreneurs to bring the US fast food chain Wingstop to the UK. A private equity deal in late 2024 valued the business at more than £400m.

 

Abakar Saidov

 

Saidov co-founded Beamery. It uses artificial intelligence to identify and address skill shortages in its clients' workforces and in 2022 secured unicorn status after a £41m fundraising. 

 

Sultan Saidov

 

Saidov and his elder brother Abakar set up Beamery. The tech firm helps recruiters at UBS, Blackrock, General Motors and other employers find the best candidates to fill vacancies. An investment round three years ago valued the business at around $1bn.

 

Romi Savova

 

Bulgarian-born Savova set up Pension Bee, a service helping people bring together holdings they have built up in different workplace pension schemes during their careers. She floated the business on the stock market in 2021 and the shares currently value the operation at around £365m.

 

Jakob Schwarz

 

Schwarz teamed up with Martin Kissinger and Victoria van Lennep to set up Lendable. The loan provider has secured a £3.5bn valuation. 

 

Thom Seddon

 

Seddon founded Telcom with Shaun Gibson and Alistair Adams 10 years ago. The Manchester-based outfit is now known as Elevate and has raised more than £63m of investment. 

 

Amar Shah

 

Shah co-founded the unicorn Wayve, a developer of artificial intelligence-powered software for driverless cars. He has now launched CHARM Therapeutics, using AI to develop new drugs.

 

Francesco Simoneschi

 

Truelayer is an online payments platform used by customers including Revolut and Topps Tiles. Simoneschi co-founded the London-based unicorn.

 

Peter Smith

 

Smith co-founded the Bitcoin wallet service Blockchain. A fundraising in 2021 valued the business at more than £4bn. 

 

Alex Solomou

 

Solomou has turned LADBible from a small Facebook group into a publishing platform with annual revenues of £67.5m. He floated the Manchester-based group on the stockmarket in 2021 and the shares now valued the company at around £225m.

 

Pei-Hao Su

 

PolyAI provides voice services for virtual assistants powered by AI and has been valued at $500m. Su, better known as Eddie, co-founded the venture after completing his PhD at Cambridge.

 

James Smith

 

Smith has chaired his family’s car dealership group since 2012. Yeomans’ turnover has increased four-fold to £528.3 while he has been at the wheel.

 

Nik Storonsky

 

A state swimming champion in his youth, Moscow-born Storonksy co-founded Revolut. A share sale earlier last year valued the London-based fintech at $45bn.

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Hiroki Takeuchi

 

GoCardless provides payment, invoice and related services to businesses. Takeuchi co-founded the business and helped secure funding valuing the business at $2.1 billion in 2022

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Yaniv Toledano

 

Qogita provides an online platform helping businesses in the health and beauty world source products efficiently. Toledano founded the London-based operation after working for Goldman Sachs, helping to secure more than $80m of investment in late 2023. 

 

Dmitry Tokarev

 

Copper provides crypto services to institutional investors including custody, prime broking and settlement. Tokarev founded the business in 2018 and a fundraising valued the operation at $2bn.

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Victoria van Lennep

 

Van Lennep led the £210m fundraising for Lendable. She co-founded the loan provider after working for The Economist. 

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Tsung-Hsien Wen

 

PolyAI provides voice services for virtual assistants powered by AI and has been valued at $500m. Wen is chief technology officer and co-founded the London-based company. 

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Robert Whitehead

 

Improbable is developing a platform enabling more than 40,000 people to interact in the same online space at once. Whitehead set up the virtual world developer with Herman Narula and Peter Lipka. A fundraising has valued the operation at £2.57bn.

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Danny Williams

 

Williams’ LinkedIn profile describes him as “tea room manager” at PC Specialist. But he actually founded the Wakefield-based computer retailer and has grown annual sales to £115.8m.

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Zachary Williamson

 

App developer Aztec raised $100m of funding in late 2022. Williamson co-founded the firm with Joe Andrews.

 

Zhiheng Zhao

 

Zhao Zhiheng, who is known as Dylan, set up HungryPanda with Eric Liu. The London-based food delivery service has been valued at $500m by a fundraising.

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ENDS

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Harriet Shearer / Will Heron  

hurun@thecommunicationgroup.co.uk

The Communication Group plc

020 7630 1411

 

For business cooperation, please contact:

Ada Shan, Hurun chief representative in the UK & Europe 

ada.shan@hurun.net, 07539018042

Philip Reeve, Hurun UK Uth Event Director

philip@hurun.co.uk, 07756 506 683

 

Notes to Editors:

 

About Hurun Inc. 

 

Established in the UK in 1999, Hurun is a research, media and investments group, promoting entrepreneurship through its lists and research. 

 

Best-known today for the Hurun Rich List, telling the stories of the world’s successful entrepreneurs in China, India and the world, Hurun’s other main series are the Hurun Unicorn and Uth series. Hurun generated eight billion views on the Hurun brand last year, mainly in China and India.

 

Hurun is the world’s largest classifier of unicorns and future unicorns. The Hurun Unicorns series includes 3000 unicorns and Future Unicorns in 2024. Of the 1,453 unicorns from around the world, the UK has 53, and of 1500 future unicorns in the world, classified as Gazelles (most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within three years) and Cheetahs (to ‘go unicorn’ within five years), the UK has 84, ranking fourth in the world after the US, China and India.

 

The Hurun Uth series is about promoting young entrepreneurs to investors, local government and strategic partners, who can help them think big, grow faster and bigger. The Uth series starts with the Under25s (to qualify, you have to be a founder of a business worth over US$1mn), Under30s (over US$10mn) Under35s (over US$50mn) and Under40s (over US$100mn). 2024 is the third year of the Hurun UK Under30s, second year of the UK Under35s and first year of the UK Under40s. 

 

Hurun has hosted high-profile events in the last few years across China and India, as well as London, Paris, New York, LA, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Luxembourg, Istanbul, Dubai and Singapore. 

 

For further information, see www.hurun.net.  

 

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