24 September 2009

Fourth Hospitality has been listed 13th in the Sunday Times annual survey of the fastest growing private technology companies in Britain after recording a 102% a year sales rise over the last three years from £821,000 in 2005 to £6.7m in 2008.

The company’s proven success in providing web-based products and services that enable clients to cut cost and improve efficiency reflects a survey dominated by companies who have shown the ability to innovate and grow against the backdrop of troublesome economic conditions.

Under the guidance of managing director Ben Hood and with an annual R&D budget in excess of £1m, Fourth has spent the last six years working with the leaders of the hospitality industry and their operations, HR and finance teams to identify the sector’s core issues and demands in order to create the definitive system.

The results of this work can be seen in the day-to-day business processes of hospitality companies across 12 countries, including the USA and Russia, and at the industry’s most recognisable pub, hotel, restaurant and contract catering chains such as Pizza Express, Ask, Marston’s, Fuller’s, SSP, Hilton Hotels, Soho House, Wolseley, Aramark and De Vere.

Hood said: “I came into hospitality from retail and I was shocked at just how far behind hospitality was in terms of the systems and processes required to run a successful and efficient business with control over KPIs. However, things are changing now and I’m proud to say that Fourth is at the vanguard of that change with the aim of becoming the industry standard.”

This year’s survey also highlights the growth of the software-as-a-service subscription model as companies battling the downturn turn to a cheaper, simpler and safer alternative to risky large scale IT installations.

Hood believes the key to Fourth’s growth and success is the demand that SaaS puts on the provider to ensure their products and services deliver and continue to deliver the promised benefits to all customers at all times.

He added: “Fourth will carry on growing and making a profit but our first priority is looking after our reputable client base.”

Edwina Lilley – who co-owns Fourth with husband Derek – sees the Tech Track listing as vindication for her decision to make the unusual move from restaurant owner to technology provider to the entire hospitality industry. The husband and wife team had previously started the innovative Est Est Est restaurant chain (sold to City Centre Restaurants in 1997) and The Restaurant Bar and Grill and Piccolino brands (now under the guise of IRC) before founding Fourth Hospitality in 1999.

She explained: “Derek and I have received many awards for our restaurants in the past, but to see this listing in The Sunday Times is the greatest achievement for both of us and vindicates our move into the technology arena. It also provides well deserved recognition for the exceptional people we have invested in over the years.”

To view the full Tech Track 2009 league table (PDF format) please click here

About Fourth Hospitality
Fourth spends in excess of £1 million a year on research and development and has developed a platform of products specifically for the hospitality sector that enable businesses to manage labour, stock and purchasing. Its e-trading platform trade simple provides electronic trading, supplier integration, invoice management and procurement, fnb manager handles stock control, recipe and menu engineering and online ordering and people system manages employee lifecycle from HR and scheduling to payroll and benefits. Fourth has 150 employees across four offices delivering material benefits to over 20,000 users and its software is used by the hospitality sector in 12 countries including the USA and Russia. Clients include Pizza Express, Fuller’s, Marston’s, Wagamama, Carluccios, Hilton, the Gordon Ramsay Group and ASK.

About Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
SaaS (also known as cloud computing) runs in shared data centres and is quick to implement and costs less as it removes the need to pay all the people, products and facilities to run them. It enables a business to sign up to use an application hosted by the company that builds, sells, develops and supports it rather than buying a software licence and installing the application on individual machines. This provides flexibility to the business while removing the responsibility of maintaining the software themselves. It is also more scalable, secure and reliable than most apps and new features, security and performance enhancements are automatically taken care of.

About Tech Track 100
Now in its ninth year, The Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 annual league table is compiled by Oxford-based research and networking events company Fast Track. In addition to its title sponsor Microsoft, the league table is co-sponsored by Barclays Commercial Bank and BDO Stoy Hayward.
League table criteria:
Companies are ranked by their compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in sales over the latest three financial years between 2005 and 2008, or 2006 and 2009. A minimum of 25 weeks’ trading in the base and latest years was required. For financial years lasting less or more than 52 trading weeks, figures were annualised on a simple pro-rata basis. Annualised sales had to exceed £250,000 in the base year (2005 or 2006) and £5m in the latest year (2008 or 2009). Companies had to also show an increase in sales in their latest year. They were not required to be in profit.
Companies had to be unquoted, independent and registered in Britain.

The research was carried out by Fast Track between May and August. All companies were interviewed by telephone and the majority (65) were also visited by the Fast Track research team.

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