Founders: Richard and Janet Garcia
Founded: August 2011 (launched May 2012)
Website: www.cookandgarcia.co.uk

Set up by husband and wife duo Richard and Janet Garcia, Richmond-based artisan sandwich shop Cook & Garcia is a shining example of the UK’s rise in high street independents. Offering fresh, made to order, food and coffee with pricing kept within the “magic £5 lunchtime budget”, Cook & Garcia has become a favourite amongst South West Londoners; averaging over 300 customers per day with 40% of its daily visitors being repeat custom.

Since featuring in the Startups 100 2013, the cafe branch has continued to grow; increasing its sales month by month. Claiming its success is due to giving customers more choice than the “usual generic chains”, the cafe start-up’s popularity is evidenced in its impressive revenue figures – boasting £380,000 turnover for 2013 projections of £680,000 for 2014. Over the last year, the sandwich shop has reaped the benefits of new additional revenue streams with “huge growth” of its local office delivery service. Having secured investment from a private equity house just a few weeks ago, the Garcia’s now have wider plans for their sandwich brand and additional Cook & Garcia sites are in the pipeline with plans to open two new shops each year.

Founders: Mark Roberts and Christopher France
Founded: October 2012
Website: www.beerhawk.co.uk

Over the past few years, craft beer has enjoyed an explosion in popularity – indeed, the flavoursome, individual brews are now so in demand that some experts have predicted a worldwide hop shortage. Online craft beer delivery service Beerhawk is well placed to take advantage of this through its online craft beer delivery service; the start-up scans the world for the best that craft beer has to offer, delivering hand-picked selections of more than 300 individual bottles to customers at competitive prices. In addition to the e-commerce service, customers can sign up for a monthly ‘Beer Club’ which delivers a case of 15 different beers to their door for a monthly fee.

BeerHawk also generates revenues through corporate partnerships, utilising their scale to acquire new customers and quickly boost brand awareness (current partners include big names such as HSBC, First Direct, FHM and Moonpig) as well as selling beer through 3^rd party platforms including notonthehighstreet, Amazon, and Play.com. This smart multi-pronged revenue model has seen BeerHawk grow to become the UK’s largest beer delivery platform (and our highest beer subscription entry!) and with the craft beer craze showing no signs of slowing (potential hops shortage notwithstanding), the start-up is well placed to continue this growth across 2014.

Founders: Alex Depledge, Tom Nimmo and Jules Coleman
Founded: March 2012 (launched June 2012)
Website: www.hassle.com

Listed in our 2013 Startups 100, Hassle creates exactly the opposite of what its (new) name implies; the business was originally called Teddle when we featured it last year. The platform allows Londoners to browse and book local, background-checked cleaners for their home quickly and easily, eliminating the frustrating process of trying to find a good one yourself. A graduate of UK accelerator platform Tech Stars London, the uptake for Hassle across the capital had been phenomenal, with the service now used by thousands of cleaners and homeowners alike.

It’s clearly an industry with plenty of potential; as newcomer and competitor Housekeep points out – the cleaning market is worth over £4bn so it’s no surprise that there are lots of new cleaning marketplaces springing up. Hassle marked a major milestone in May when it successfully closed a major $6m Series A funding round from Accel Partners – cementing its potential, this is set to take the business into other major cities across the UK and Europe for the first time, making the next 12 months absolutely pivotal for the business.

Founders: Nick Telson and Andrew Webster
Founded: December 2011
Website: www.designmynight.com

It was after witnessing the “amazing” nightlife knowledge of a New York hotel concierge that 29-year-old Nick Telson and business partner Andrew Webster turned their attention to what was on offer for Londoners on the web. What they found was “half-baked” nightlife and ticketing websites wherever they looked. The idea for DesignMyNight was born; an online concierge which finds venues and offers tailored nights to the exact occasion and budget of UK city dwellers.

Currently available in London, Birmingham, Brighton, Glasgow, and Manchester, 18-employee DesignMyNight has quickly proved a hit with audiences ranging from students to corporate customers – the site has grown to facilitate around 5,000 tickets per month, which generate commission and booking fees for the platform. With £500,000 backing from a group of prominent business angels, former L’Oréal marketer Telson and management consultant Webster are planning a landmark year. Having just released what they claim will be the world’s first-ever bar-specific booking system (‘Collins’) the pair, who started the business with just £15,000 of personal savings, have ambitious plans to build upon the growth potential of DesignMyNight’s unique concept.

Founders: Jeff Lynn and Carlos Silva
Founded: May 2009 (launched July 2012)
Website: www.seedrs.com

Also listed in our 2013 index, Seedrs sets itself apart from competitor equity crowdfunding sites such as Crowdcube with its unique nominee-based approach to investment; instead of receiving an individual stake in a funded start-up, armchair investors on the platform are represented by Seedrs itself as nominee shareholder, which looks after their interests and ensures the maximum return on investment. The platform’s creators describe this as a win-win for both parties – companies do not have to gain the approval of a multitude of backers for future funding rounds, and the investors themselves reap all the rewards of investment with the minimum of effort.

In the last 12 months the platform’s userbase has more than tripled to 42,000 users across 45 countries, with this figure growing daily as more investors are attracted to Seedrs’ no-nonsense 7.5% commission model. The site marked a major milestone in November 2013 when it secured a record-breaking £2.5m investment from over 900 investors on its own platform – taking its total amount of investment to £3.6m. This latest funding is set to back “aggressive” growth plans, with a major programme of European expansion on the cards in addition to developing the social side of its technology platform.

Founder: Crispin Busk
Founded: January 2011
Website: www.kabutonoodles.com

Instant noodles have been a favourite with university students, time-poor workers and convenience foodies for several years now but never before has there been an “upmarket, healthy” version akin to noodles you would receive in a restaurant. Determined to bridge the gap between restaurant and supermarket, Crispin Busk launched Kabuto Noodles; Asian-inspired noodles made with high quality ingredients without additives or preservatives.

Since its launch in January 2011, the Bristol-based noodle business has scaled rapidly and is now stocked on the shelves of leading UK supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco and Wholefoods, as well as several independents. The instant noodle company has also enjoyed overseas growth with exports trade to Ireland, Spain and Russia. Kabuto Noodles, named after the Samurai warrior’s armoured helmet, has impressive revenue figures to match its client portfolio with £1.35m turnover for 2013 and £2.7m turnover projected for this year; not bad for a company that only has three employees! The noodle company has lots in store over the next 12 months including a new range of rice noodles, signing with a new national retailer and an increase in exports activity.

Founders: Andy Shovel and Peter Sharman
Founded:July 2013
Website: chosenbun.com

A 2013 Startups Awards finalist, Chosen Bun has enjoyed a series of business accolades for its innovative proposition – the UK’s first ever burger delivery service. Founded by young entrepreneurs Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman, the West Fulham-based takeaway company specialises in burgers that “taste immense and don’t go soggy” using their own-designed, patented, thermal induction-heated hot-bags to keep burgers ventilated and warm during the delivery transportation process.

Listing its biggest challenge to date as “chips”, and “fixing the chips” as its breakthrough moment, the cheeky start-up has developed a fun brand which has helped capture the attention of London’s burger lovers. In under a year, the innovative burger offering has won the support, and stomachs, of South West Londoners with projected turnover for 2014 estimated at £1.2m and a second London store opening planned for the next few months. Counting success as “enjoying most of every single day and eventually earning a fortune”, the company isn’t planning to stop at a second store and has long-terms goals to establish a chain of Chosen Bun’s across the capital – we’re hoping for one near us shortly!

Founders: Robert Ferris and Gemma Ferris
Founded: January 2012
Website: www.feritech.com

It was when working within the offshore industry for a survey service company that entrepreneurial team Robert and Gemma Ferris noticed the generally poor commitment to after-sales service and support across the entire sector. They decided it was time to pour a combined 22 years of industry expertise into a company with repeat business at its very core. By tapping into the rich and varied engineering expertise within Cornwall, Feritech is able to offer a huge range of services to its renewable energy, geophysical survey and oil and gas clients – from simple equipment sale and rental all the way to the manufacture and design of complex engineering solutions tailored to the client’s exact needs.

With what it promises is unparalleled after-sales support and a commitment to understanding the real needs of the client, Feritech has set itself apart from the cookie-cutter solutions offered by its competition. And 2014 is set to be a landmark year for 35-year-old Robert and 30-year-old Gemma’s business, which already boasts very impressive financials, as it recruits new staff and looks to expand to the USA.

Founder: Liam Barry
Founded: November 2012 (launched May 2013)
Website: www.techandprint.co.uk

Liam Barry started Yorkshire-based Tech and Print Solutions after identifying that touchscreen technology was set to be the ‘next big thing’ (after interactive whiteboards) for the education and business sector, creating his business as a forward-looking IT vendor in an old and rigid marketplace. An experienced salesman, having grown the previous company he worked for from a £2.5m turnover to an £8.5m turnover, Tech and Print was created with above-and-beyond customer service at its core, with salespeople given specialist IT training and a strong focus on adding value inherent in all its activities.

In just 10 months of trading, the start-up achieved preferred vendor status with Cisco, Microsoft, Dell and a whole host of other household-name suppliers, amassing 259 customers in total and a turnover of £759,000 in 2013. Already profitable, the next 12 months will prove pivotal for the business, as it grows turnover to £3.5m in 2014 and sets the stage for a second targeted phase of growth.

Founders: Simon Swan and Sara Jones
Founded: November 2010 (launched February 2011)
Website: www.hiring-hub.com

Making our list for the third year in a row, Hiring-Hub was recognised in 2012 and 2013 for its innovative approach to recruitment – the online marketplace gives the power back to employers by allowing them to ‘crowdsource’ candidates from competing recruitment agencies. Hiring-Hub has seen particularly impressive growth over the past year as the service’s popularity begins to snowball; the site grew 640% between February 2013 and 2014, becoming profitable for the first time.

Jaguar Land Rover is one of the latest employers to start using the site, joining other high-profile names such as Wonga, Sage, Maplin and Nisa and the business is now aiming for £100,000 EBITDA across 2014 as it looks to consolidate its market position. From a business idea initially hatched while drunk and started with less than £50,000, (the duo have since raised an additional £500,000), it seems clear Hiring-Hub is firmly en route to becoming a serious challenger to the traditional recruitment model.