
Our small- to mid-cap PLCs are at the heart of corporate Britain's growth. Here at finnCap, we see our listed SMEs as the lifeblood of our economy. We wanted to celebrate that, in a way that was totally subjective.
Presenting the finnCap Ambition Nation Listed 50. The Ambition Nation Listed 50 acknowledges the best of the best in small and medium sized companies. It is driven by key metric fundamentals, identifying the 50 companies that offer the best blend of growth and quality as ranked by finnCap’s equity analysis tool, The Slide Rule. As well as identifying the UK's best companies, Ambition Nation Listed 50 also celebrates the achievements and innovation of these business leaders.
Now in its third year, we are delighted to present the Ambition Nation Listed 50 cohort for 2020/2021.
Ambition Nation Listed 50 - 2020/2021
Company name |
Sector |
Alpha Financial Markets |
Financials |
Alpha FX |
Financials |
Beeks Financial Cloud |
Technology |
Belvoir |
Industrials & Services |
Bioventix |
Life Sciences |
Brewin Dolphin |
Financials |
Brooks MacDonald |
Financials |
Cake Box Holdings |
Consumer |
Cerillion |
Technology |
Chemring |
Industrials & Services |
City of London Investment |
Financials |
Codemasters Group |
Consumer |
Concurrent Technologies |
Technology |
Craneware |
Technology |
dotDigital |
Technology |
Eagle Eye Solutions |
Technology |
Eckoh |
Technology |
EMIS |
Life Sciences |
Ergomed |
Life Sciences |
Euromoney Institutional Investor |
Industrials & Services |
Focusrite |
Consumer |
Franchise Brands |
Industrials & Services |
FW Thorpe |
Industrials & Services |
Ideagen |
Technology |
Idox |
Technology |
IMImobile |
Technology |
Impax Asset Management |
Financials |
Instem |
Life Sciences |
Integrated Diagnostics |
Life Sciences |
Judges Scientific |
Industrials & Services |
K3 Capital Group |
Financials |
Keystone Law Group |
Industrials & Services |
Learning Technologies Group |
Technology |
Liontrust Asset Management |
Financials |
Morses Club |
Financials |
Mortgage Advice Bureau |
Financials |
Netcall |
Technology |
Oxford Metrics |
Technology |
Polar Capital |
Financials |
Premier Miton |
Financials |
Property Franchise |
Industrials & Services |
Sanne |
Financials |
Strix Group |
Industrials & Services |
Sumo Group |
Consumer |
Tatton Asset Management |
Financials |
Team17 |
Consumer |
Treatt |
Industrials & Services |
Tristel |
Life Sciences |
Volex |
Industrial & Services |
YouGov |
Industrials & Services |
Selection criteria
We will identify these companies using the Slide Rule, an in-house developed quantitative equity analysis tool. First, companies are ranked on a blend of sales growth, EBIT growth and free cash flow return on capital employed. Next, companies are 'stress-tested' for cash flow qualit, dividende affordability (if applicable) and levels of financial leverage, with those failing any of these tests being eliminated. Finally, there is an eligibility test: companies must have their headquarters in the UK; the market capitialisation must be in the range £30m - £1bn; the company must have been listed for at least 12 months. Of those companies remaining, the top 50 are nominated to the Ambition Nation Listed 50.
Award categories
Overall Top Ranked Company
Awarded to the top ranked Ambition Nation Listed 50 company across all sectors.
Overall Best Performing Company
Awarded to the Ambition Nation Listed 50 company across all sectors that has delivered the best share price total return over the last twelve months.
Top ranked and best performing companies in the following sectors:
- Technology
- Consumer
- Financials
- Life Sciences
- Industrials & Services
finnCap Group Managing Director Stuart Andrews and Head of Research Raymond Greaves discuss the 2020/2021 cohort of the Ambition Nation Listed 50 with host Oli Barrett MBE, below.
Driving Ambition | Film Series
Interviews with the leaders of the Listed 50

As part of the Ambition Nation Listed 50, we want to put business leaders in the driving seat, to dig a little deeper into what makes these innovative companies tick.
Presenting our interview film series, Driving Ambition, now in its second year.
Weekly, presenter Oli Barrett MBE interviews a diverse selection of CEOs and leaders from the finnCap Ambition Nation Listed 50 to find out more about their growth journey, the key decisions these leaders made to get their companies where they are today, the importance of being listed, the challenges of recent macroeconomic events, and how they are working towards a sustainable future.
Watch our archive of Driving Ambition episodes below
Ambition Nation Listed 50 Awards – Winners 2020
finnCap Group extends our huge congratulations to the 2020 winners of Ambition Nation Listed 50 Awards, celebrating the UK’s leading small and medium UK-listed companies that offer the best blend of growth and quality.
Cohort of 2019/2020
Award |
Winner |
Top ranked company: Overall |
Checkit |
Top ranked company: Technology |
Checkit |
Top ranked company: Consumer |
Focusrite |
Top ranked company: Financials |
Tatton Asset Management |
Top ranked company: Best of the rest |
AB Dynamics |
Best performing company: Overall |
Avon Rubber |
Best performing company: Technology |
Kainos |
Best performing company: Consumer |
Focusrite |
Best performing company: Financials |
Impax Asset Management |
Best performing company: Best of the rest |
Avon Rubber |
