News: Maplin amongst Britain's fastest growing profit companies

Rotherham-based electronics retailer, Maplin, has been named in the latest Sunday Times Pricewaterhouse Coopers Profit Track 100.

The annual league table, now in its eleventh year, ranks Britain's 100 private companies with the fastest-growing profits and uses the growth in profits over the last three years of latest available audited accounts.

The 100 companies have grown their profits over the last three years by an average of 68% a year to a combined total of £1.4bn. Together they employed 96,853 staff, and added 33,817 jobs during this time.

Maplin Electronics is ranked 46th in the UK and second in Yorkshire. Profits have risen 61% a year from £5.4m in 2005 to £22.2m in 2008.

Maplin sells a range of 15,000 products to tech-savvy hobbyists as well as general consumers.

The company's website attracts over 170,000 visitors every day and a network of over 170 retail outlets throughout the UK and Ireland. Maplin has plans to open 12 new stores this year.

Launched by two technology enthusiasts in 1972 who were frustrated by the lack of good quality electronics components, Maplin Electronics became the experts' choice, with a reputation for the best product range and expertise.

The recent profits are a far cry from the early days in Essex when founders, Roger Allen and Doug Simmons, remained in their full-time jobs for two years, and the company didn't make a profit.

In 2008 they moved to a 220,000 sq ft state of the art distribution centre and head office at Manvers in Rotherham.

Maplin website
Fast Track website
Rotherham

Images: maplin.co.uk