Dorset e-commerce firm OnBuy has been ranked among the fastest-growing companies in Europe.
The company, which recently moved into a new Bournemouth HQ, is the UK’s fourth-largest online marketplace, offering a platform for thousands of online retailers to sell a range of 36 million products.
Founded in 2016 by entrepreneur Cas Paton in Poole, the business has reported a 479% increase in revenue growth between 2017 and 2020, rising from £394,000 to £2.2m, which has seen it claim 331st spot on a list of 1,000 expanding European companies compiled by The Financial Times.
Last year OnBuy recruited more than 80 new staff members, grew the number of sellers on its website by more than 50% to more than 11,000, and secured £35m of investment during a series A funding round.
With the announcement of its new base in Bournemouth town centre, OnBuy said it was looking to double its workforce by filling more than 100 roles and it also has plans to open a base in Manchester.
Mr Paton, OnBuy’s chief executive, described making the list as “a huge achievement” for the company and its staff. He attributed OnBuy’s growth to its commitment to providing a “fairer ecosystem” for both sellers and buyers.
Mr Paton said: "It's really important to us as a company that our values remain consistent with fairness and transparency always at the heart of the business. We're growing rapidly and I am excited to see what this year holds for us."
The business is looking to cultivate and drive a tech sector in Dorset which it has nicknamed “Silicon Beach” - a “hub of innovation” on the South West coastline.
The highest ranking UK-based company on the list was supply chain procurement business OCI, whose revenue soared from £3.5m in 2017 to £473.4m in 2020.
Finnish tech firm Swappie, an online marketplace for refurbished smartphones topped the list, with revenue up from £422,000 in 2017 to £81.2m in 2020.
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