The Manchester 250
250 of the most exciting companies in and around Manchester, picked for fast growth, fresh funding, awards and headline moves in 2025 and 2026. This brief picks out the 20 with the clearest reason to buy right now and says how to approach each one.
Manchester's fastest growers are doing one of two things with new money: opening in the US or Europe, or opening more sites at home. Ryft, Summize, Housr and Inovus Medical all raised this year and named America or Europe as where it goes. Summize bought a Seattle firm to get there; Inovus is selling surgical simulators into US residency programmes. These are UK businesses building go-to-market teams for a new continent, which is the moment they buy recruitment, marketing and everything that goes with a first office abroad.
Underneath the funded tech sits a wall of consumer and leisure growth. Mission Mars put on 25 percent and seven new Rudy's sites, Online Home Shop cleared 100 million pounds behind a new Trafford Park warehouse, and Soul Padel is going from four clubs to ten in a year. Every opening is a project with the same shopping list: property, fit-out, staff and local marketing.
The third pattern is consolidation. Express Solicitors and Fletchers are buying rivals with private equity behind them, which means integration work across IT, HR and marketing, new offices, and a hiring run that does not stop when the deal closes.
What’s inside.
Funded tech and medtech
Eight companies that raised money recently and are now spending it on people, product and new markets. Most are taking a UK business to Europe or the US for the first time.
Tripled its processing volume in 12 months and now serves more than 6,500 businesses. The round funds a move into Europe and the US, and Ryft has applied to the Malta Financial Services Authority for a full EU payments licence. It added FX and payouts in more than 35 currencies in September.
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In the full briefingBought Seattle's InnoLaw Group in June, a clear move into the US. Ranked 10th in the 2025 Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 and won the North West title, plus SaaS Company of the Year at the 2025 Prolific North Tech Awards.
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In the full briefingRanked No.1 in BusinessCloud's PropTech 50 for 2026 and won the Judges' Entrepreneur Award at the 2026 Northern Tech Awards. Honch shows it hiring in product management and security, with AI being built into its engineering.
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In the full briefingWon the Northern Star Award for Commercial Success at the 2026 Northern Tech Awards and closed its Series A in August.
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In the full briefingOpened a US base in Chicago and was named a Prolific North 2026 Tech Company to Watch.
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In the full briefingLaunched its AI platform Vypr Predict and plans to grow from 87 to 125 staff by March 2027.
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In the full briefingThe BGF money is earmarked for international growth, a big cheque for a business of its size.
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In the full briefingThe latest money funds US expansion and new simulators for robotic surgery and flexible endoscopy. Honch picks up that its platform is used in nearly 300 surgical residency programmes.
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In the full briefingConsumer brands and leisure
Fast growers selling to consumers, with record numbers and new sites. Every opening is a project: property, fit-out, staff and local marketing.
Pre-tax profit rose from £2.5m to £7.2m. Opened seven Rudy's sites in the year and was reported in June 2026 to be weighing overseas expansion.
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In the full briefingA second record year, after opening a 327,000 sq ft fulfilment centre at Trafford Park.
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In the full briefingProfessional services on a buying spree
Law firms and agencies buying rivals, often with private equity or bank backing. Each deal brings integration work, new offices and new people.
Infrastructure, data centres and construction
Firms riding spending on energy networks, AI infrastructure and building. Big order books and fast hiring.
More from the list.
| Company | Sector | Based | Why it made the list |
|---|---|---|---|
| AccessPay | Fintech (payment automation) | Manchester | Secured a majority investment from global software private equity firm Accel-KKR in March 2026 to fund new products and acquisitions for its bank connectivity platform. |
| ApconiX | Life sciences / drug safety consultancy | Alderley Park | Won a King's Award for Enterprise 2025 for Innovation. |
| Cellerate | Battery technology | Manchester | Manchester battery specialist grew turnover 60% after NPIF backing, per a British Business Bank case study in May 2026. |
| 24-7 Group | Building services / facilities | Knutsford | Knutsford-based services group acquired electrical and data network specialist Optech in January 2026, extending its national capability. |
| Adanola | Fashion / athleisure | Manchester | Sales reached £84.5m in the year to March 2025 with pre-tax profit up to £22.1m, after a Story3 Capital deal valued it at about £398m; ranked 25th in the Sunday Times 100 2025 with 127.56% growth. |
| Bilyana Golf | Leisure travel / golf holidays | Macclesfield | Ranked 3rd in the Ward Hadaway North West Fastest 50 2025 and won fastest growing medium business, with 194.53% growth. |
| AAB | Accountancy and advisory | Manchester | Goldman Sachs backed AAB (revenue over £200m) opened a Manchester office at No.1 St Michael's in July 2026 with plans to employ more than 200 people there. |
| Add People | SME digital marketing agency | Altrincham | Ranked 12th in the Prolific North Top 150 Agencies 2026 with 240 staff, after placing 6th in the Top 50 Digital Agencies 2025; also runs a Texas office. |
| adam+gary | Creative production studio | Manchester | Named Production Company of the Year at the Prolific North Creative Awards 2026 (June 2026) and on the Agencies to Watch 2026 list with 43.76% forecast revenue growth for 2025/26. |
| AeroCloud | Airport operations software | Stockport | Won the Judges' Award for Global Ambition at the 2025 Northern Tech Awards and was named in Prolific North's 2026 Tech Companies to Watch (scale-up edition), with its platform used at 80+ airport locations. |
| Ascroft Medical | Medtech / diagnostics | Oldham | Oldham medtech grew turnover 33% after launching an AI-enabled diagnostic testing platform with GM Business Growth Hub support (October 2026). |
| Econic Technologies | Cleantech / carbon utilisation | Alderley Park | Ranked in the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 2025 with 1,308% growth, behind only Previsico and Levidian among environmental technology firms, for its catalyst that turns waste CO2 into polyols and surfactants. |
| Astemo | Automotive electronics manufacturing | Horwich | Announced a £100m investment in July 2025 to build EV inverters at its Horwich plant, the only UK site with this capability, creating and safeguarding 220 skilled jobs. |
| AO World | Electricals ecommerce | Bolton | Acquired Jessops in 2026 and reported in September 2026 that first-half revenue was up 5.5% and profit up over 20% to about £21.5m, with a £10m buyback under way. |
| Club de Padel | Leisure / padel and apparel | Manchester | Manchester's first city centre padel club landed a Marks and Spencer retail deal for its apparel line in April 2026, made with Manchester streetwear collective un:ik. |
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