The women blazing a trail at some of the UK's fastest-growing businesses

Sister

Sister has had a bumper few years. Founded in 2015, the independent production company is behind hit TV shows including The Split and This is Going to Hurt for the BBC, Black Doves and Chernobyl for Netflix, and Broadchurch for ITV.

Its three female founders are heavyweights of the media industry. Jane Featherstone was the chief executive of Kudos and co-chairman of Shine UK; Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert who founded Shine Group; and Stacey Snider, who was previously chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox, chairman of Universal Pictures and co-chairman and CEO of DreamWorks.

Featherstone believes its independence has been “critical” to its success. Speaking to Variety magazine, she says: “We’ve expanded, we’ve grown and we have investments, but [Sister] can still partner with anybody and work with any talent and create our own deal structures.”

The challenge, of course, is getting a share of the increasingly tight budgets in the media landscape. But its results would suggest its focus on independence, storytelling and stories with international appeal is paying off. Revenue has increased by 680 per cent over the three years of our analysis to £207.1m as it looks to expand both internationally with the opening of its US studio and by taking stakes in smaller businesses.

Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham needs little introduction. A fifth of the Spice Girls, the best-selling girl group of all time, and married to one of the world’s most famous footballers in David Beckham, she is one of the most famous and photographed women on the planet.

Alongside this fame, she is also a successful businesswoman. She had a passion for fashion and made her debut as a model at London Fashion Week in 2000, before designing her first fashion line for Rock & Republic in 2004. When she left Rock & Republic, she launched her own denim label dVb Style, before expanding into eyewear.

However, it is her eponymous label that has put Beckham on the Growth 500. Founded in 2008, it was initially known for dresses but soon added separates and luxury handbags to the collection, as well as denim, eyewear and fragrance. In 2011, she won Designer Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards.

Revenues at the company are up 118 per cent over the past three years, hitting £89m in its most recent accounts. But in an interview with Nicole Kidman for Vogue Australia, she admits she was “naive and innocent” when she began working on her label and if she knew then what she knows now, she might not have had the “courage” to launch it.

Seabird Technologies

Sophi Horne is quickly making a name for herself in the world of yachting. Born in Norway but raised in Sweden, she is the designer behind the electric powerboat RaceBird, which is used in the championship racing E1 Series, as well as the founder of SeaBird Technologies.

Her journey into yacht design started at a young age. She started design as a side hustle at school, won a few awards and aged 18 was hired by a mega-yacht company. She left to go into banking but soon quit to focus on her passion.

The inspiration for SeaBird came when she was recovering from Lyme disease. Forced to spend hours in bed, she spent her time working on one of her two tech companies – a platform where people could hire power boats. She wanted to add electric foil boats to the service but couldn’t find any so she thought she would design one herself.

Things really took off when Alejandro Agag, chairman of both Formula E and E1 Series, said he would back her project – and then asked her to develop race boats. She turned her hand to that, while at the same time helping development of E1. That has helped to drive revenues to £12.5m, a 620 per cent increase over the past three years.

Horne admits it can be a man’s world, particularly in the marine industry. The key to success, she says, is finding the right backers. “As a woman, you need to find people who believe in you, respect you and let you do your thing without coming in and taking over,” she told Fortune.