Much has been written about New Zealand’s housing market, but Waikato and Bay of Plenty-based residential home builders ZB Homes have taken the number one ranking on this year’s Deloitte Fast 50 index with 1,583% revenue growth over the past three years. This is the first time in the history of the index that a construction business has taken the top slot.

Digital money lender Moola.co.nz (1013%), educational advising consultants Crimson Education (1005%), online payments company Pushpay (914%) and ethically and environmentally friendly painters Carus Group (718%) round out this year’s top five fastest growing companies in New Zealand.

The annual Deloitte Fast 50 index, announced tonight at the Deloitte Festival of Growth, ranks businesses experiencing rapid revenue growth over three years and sets the benchmark for high growth businesses in New Zealand.

The 2017 national Rising Star Award winner, which recognises early stage companies who don’t yet qualify for the index, is content measurement company Parrot Analytics. Runners-up, labeled Rising Star “ones to watch”, are social enterprise Eat My Lunch, organic feminine hygiene products maker Organic Initiative and mineral extractor Avertana. 

Iconic Kiwi tech pioneers of cloud-based accounting software Xero have taken number one ranking on this year’s inaugural Master of Growth index with 657% revenue growth over the past five years, followed by global distributor of consumer electronic products Protempo (608%) and self-service payment technology company Invenco Group (386%).

Introduced this year, the Master of Growth index ranks the 20 fastest-growing established businesses achieving longer term sustained growth. It ranks businesses starting from a larger revenue base, and over five years of revenue growth. 

Deloitte Private partner Bill Hale says the Fast 50 programme, now in its 17th year, is more than just another business awards programme.

“The Deloitte Fast 50 is an active community of intrepid business trailblazers looking to achieve great things for their companies,” says Hale.  

“It does more than just rank New Zealand’s fifty fastest growing businesses. It celebrates business success and growth across the spectrum – from early stage companies to mature businesses – on a regional and national stage.

“The high level of diversity celebrated today at the Deloitte Festival of Growth shows any type of business, from anyplace in New Zealand, can do well with the right approach. It is great to see these companies thriving by capitalising on their points of difference and executing on their plans. A common theme is that they are all strong across strategy, capability and commitment, but focus on finding a point of difference and nailing it in that niche.”

The Deloitte Fast 50 index ranks the top 50 businesses in New Zealand according to their revenue growth over the past three years. Entrants are required to be New Zealand registered companies, have been in business for a minimum of three years, have had operating revenue of at least $500,000 in the 2014/15 financial year (FY15) and supply a full set of financial accounts for FY16, FY16 and FY17.

The exceptions to this are the Rising Star category, which requires the company to have been in business for one full year, with a set of accounts for one full year, and the Master of Growth category, which require the company to have had revenue of at least $5 million in FY13 and a full set of verified accounts for both FY13 and FY17.

The number one ranked companies since the programme began in 2001 are:

2001: TelstraSaturn, telecommunications

2002: Marshal Software, internet security

2003: Prolificx, electronics

2004: Trade Me, online auctions

2005: 42 Below, vodka

2006: HRV, home ventilation

2007: Energy Mad, eco-friendly light bulbs

2008: Watson & Son, manuka honey/healthcare

2009: New Zealand Honey, honey products

2010: Telecom Rentals, finance for telecommunications services

2011: Powershop, online electricity retailer

2012: Pulse Utilities, electricity retailer

2013: Earthwise, Environmentally considered products

2014: Voyager Internet

2015: Garage Project, brewery

2016: Pushpay, online payments

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