The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 league table was published at the weekend. The No 1 company was Cyclescheme, which administers the Cycle to Work programme.
Four travel companies made the list. Central London-based Your Golf Travel was the highest ranked, coming 15th, after its annual sales increased by 140% in its last financial year. The Low Cost Travel Group was 20th, Directline Holidays 35th while airport transfer company Holiday Taxis was in 77th place. Congratulations to them all. This is no mean feat in the current economic climate.
We were lucky enough to top the table in 2007 and were then surprised by the reaction – people thought we had won the lottery not the Fast Track 100. We were flooded with all sorts of proposals, some of which we list below
- We had many calls from potential investors in the business
- We were offered email lists
- We were offered technology and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services
- We were asked if we would we like to take 30 guests to Royal Ascot for the bargain basement cost of £10,950 (reduced from £16,350). In return we were assured “an atmospheric cocktail of priceless thoroughbreds and spectacular fashion.”
- Owing to a late cancellation, we were offered the chance of having the Travel Republic logo displayed on four of the boundary hoardings for the Sri Lanka vs England Test Match in Colombo
- One of our directors received a model Lamborghini for his desk (from a corporate finance advisory firm)
- Another one of our directors received a letter from a car dealership which concluded with the words “ … maybe given your success, it’s time for a supercar treat like Audi’s stunning R8. Give us a call, we look forward to forging a partnership with you.”
- Then we had a call asking us if we wanted to commission our own coat of arms and corporate seal
We suspect the telephone lines of this year’s winners will have been similarly busy … and we look forward to the invite to Royal Ascot in due course!