11. Seven Hills

Founders: Michael Hayman and Nick Giles
Founded: January 2010
Website: www.wearesevenhills.com

The self-styled ‘campaigning communications firm’ made our list in 2012 for its explosive arrival on the PR scene – it almost immediately became a leading name amongst the start-up and entrepreneur community despite the challenges offered by the recession. The last 12 months have proved that Seven Hills is no flash in the pan; it continues to add to its roster of prestigious clients (which include Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones, Virgin Media – that’s our Richard Branson target ticked off the list and Global Entrepreneurship Week) and has become Britain’s fastest growing PR agency in the process, with the company well on target to hit £3m in revenue this year. Seven Hills’ extraordinary growth is underpinned by the founders’ relentless ambition for the firm, who say they expect the company to have the same impact on the marketing world that advertising giant Saatchi’s had in the 1980s.