The ranking makes AES International the highest ranked financial services company in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 list for the second consecutive year. The list, which is sponsored by Virgin, has been running since 1997 and is compiled by a team of 20 researchers and freelance journalists.
According to the list, which can be downloaded here, sales at AES grew by 187% reaching £11.2m at the end of the 2011/2012 financial year. It is also worth noting that, of all the companies which have previously made the list in consecutive years, AES is the first to achieve a higher ranking in the second year than the first.
Instone attributed the achievement to the company’s strategy of bringing about ‘positive change’ within the international advice space.
“It has always been AES’s mission to bring positive change to international financial services, exporting UK best practice and introducing standards where few existed, placing AES decades ahead of our competitors,” said Instone.
“It demonstrates that taking a radically different approach to the rest of the industry, being highly professional, 100% transparent, team-orientated and focused on improving both consumer and adviser outcomes is the recipe for long term successful growth.”
Other winners
Other notable entrants on this year’s list include Jamie’s Italian a ‘fast food’ Italian restaurant opened by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in 2007 which features in seventh place, Stormfront an Apple products re-seller and repair company which came ninth and first placed Genuine Gemstone an online and TV retailer of precious stones which grew by 245% in the last year.