Fashion brand CAPO tops the list of the northwest’s fastest-growing private companies

CAPO, a fashion brand based in Accrington, Lancashire is the northwest’s fastest-growing private company, according to the fourth annual Sunday Times 100 rankings.

The list was available at thesundaytimes.com/100 as a supplement with the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday 29th June.

 The annual ranking identifies and celebrates Britain’s 100 leading entrepreneurial businesses, and showcases the people behind these most dynamic private companies.

This year, The Sunday Times 100 excludes companies that sell their own technology, which now feature in the sister table, The Sunday Times 100 Tech, which was launched in January 2025.

 CAPO made £12.5m of sales in the year to this January, a staggering 192 per cent average annual growth in the last three years, and employs 21 people.

Dan Wilkins, 32, and Adam Morning, 38, dreamt up the idea for this fashion brand while both semi-professional football players for Ashton United.

They started the business in Accrington in 2017, initially selling hats.

The company’s men’s athleisure now ranges from overshirts to trainers, with the brand recently becoming footwear partner with Blackburn Rovers, the football club where Wilkins had spent eight years as a young player. 

Dan Wilkins, director of CAPO said: "We are incredibly proud to be recognised in The Times 100 list of top companies.

"From extremely humble beginnings in our bedrooms and £250 investment each this achievement is a testament to how far we have come and the dedication and passion of our entire team.

"We are just two normal best friends backed by the unwavering support of our amazing families (many of whom now work for us) who could never have imagined being placed on such a prestigious list!

"It really makes us proud and has taken years of hard work and reflects our continued commitment to excellence, our customers, and the values that drive us forward every day."

Panache Cruises in Chorley is 12th on the list in the North West and 60th nationally and had sales of £34.9m.

Meanwhile, car.co.uk in Preston was 14th in the region and had sales of £22.7m.

Jon Yeomans, business editor of The Sunday Times, said: "The Sunday Times 100 is the definitive annual ranking of Britain’s fastest-growing private companies and demonstrates the remarkable entrepreneurial spirit thriving across Britain.

"It’s inspiring to see how these businesses are not only achieving phenomenal growth, but also creating thousands of new jobs and opportunities."

 Mo Syed, Head of Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management UK and Crown Dependencies, said: “We are proud to be the lead sponsor of The Sunday Times 100 Fastest Growing Companies once again.

"This prestigious ranking celebrates the innovation, ambition and resilience of Britain’s entrepreneurs – qualities that we at Barclays Private Bank are privileged to support.

"As these dynamic businesses scale and evolve, we’re committed to being the trusted partner for their strategic wealth, investment and succession planning, supporting them at every stage of their personal and business journey.”

 The research for the Sunday Times 100 was conducted by our business reporters, in partnership with Beauhurst, a source of private company data.

As well as a dedicated online hub and print supplement, The Sunday Times 100 also hosts a series of networking events for participants. 

 To be included on the list companies have to be registered in the UK and be independent, unquoted and ultimate holding companies.

Sales growth is measured by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the latest three financial years.

Annualised sales have to exceed £250,000 in the base year and not show a drop from the penultimate to the latest year, in which total sales must exceed £5m.

 The Sunday Times 100 forms part of The Times Entrepreneurs Network, staffed by reporters from The Times and The Sunday Times, which was launched in 2021 to provide advice, inspire and inform established business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs. 

To find out more visit: https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-100-fast-growth