Doing business overseas has never been more important or difficult. The British economy is increasingly reliant upon companies trading abroad, but it is a rapidly changing environment – not least due to the imposition of new tariffs by Donald Trump – and is ferociously competitive.
The launch of the E2Exchange or E2E, International Track 100 for 2025 was a mark of how firms can battle and win. In association with The Independent, E2E, the leading business networking and mentoring organisation, has published the definitive index of the 100 fastest-growing internationally focused private businesses in the UK, based on their profits over the past three years.
It’s the second in a series of Track 100s to be produced this year. Others will cover different categories, including tech, job creation, dynamic and profits. E2E has tens of thousands of members and rising, with their Track 100s designed to showcase the best private British companies that are exhibiting consistent growth and using disruptive strategies to impact not just their own sector, but also on a nationwide – and in some cases, a global – scale.
Shalini Khemka, founder of E2E, assembled a panel of corporate UK stars to herald the unveiling: James Harrison of Cycle Pharmaceuticals supplying treatments for those with rare neurological, mostly genetic, conditions; Ian Cummings from global brand experience agency Nteractive; Richard Gold of SkinnyDip, the lifestyle fashion house; and Sarah Baumann of Christopher Ward luxury watches.
They were joined in discussion, before a large online audience, by yours truly and Dhaval Patel from Universal Partners, the foreign currency payments provider that is partnering the Track 100s. We jumped in at the deep end, with the US and Donald Trump.
Harrison said for now it was “business as usual” but the future remained unclear. Gold described recent months as having created a “really difficult landscape and one that is ever-changing”. About 70 per cent of his custom comes from the Far East and dealing with China and exporting to the US has become trickier. As he put it, it is “like coping with Covid again”. His company has had to think about manufacturing more locally in the US, “but those things take time.” He’s learned, though and advises, “not to be trigger happy”, to not panic and over-react.
Cummings said tariffs was only one shift. Another that is affecting the events industry is the ability of people to work temporarily in the US. The old system operated well but recently people have been refused entry or an event has been visited by ICE officers and foreign workers barred.
Patel said volatility in currency rates was also an issue. Even with all this going on, companies still face the usual challenges operating abroad. Harrison described the biggest ongoing hurdle as finding the right people to work ‘in country’. Despite new technology in communications, being able to trust them was built on spending time with them, on travelling to meet them regularly – nothing can replace that. It comes down to “old fashioned relationship building, leaving a lasting impression when you get on the plane home,” he said.
Christopher Ward is forging a trail in the world of designer watches and is up against the combined might of the long-established Swiss giants, determined to undercut them on cost. “We’re very big on humility and not taking our growth for granted,” said Baumann. Brands do ask how the firm manages it, as an “indy from England”, he said. “We love it when we get that reaction, when people are astonished that we can do what we do, at that price.”
The panel was agreed that it was no use waiting for government to assist. “In 13 years, we’ve not been helped one jot. You have to do it all yourself. You must have the backbone, the mentors, the people who can pick you up to put you right,” said Harrison.
Cummings said remaining positive was vital. “There will be bumps along the way, always, but the future looks very bright,” he said. Baumann concurred. “Part of being an entrepreneur or working in a start-up and scaling up is optimism, so focus on your customers, the energy within the business and the community. There is plenty of good stuff happening as well,” she noted.
After an hour, the session drew to a close. It was uplifting, hearing these British success stories talking about taking on the rest of the world. It is easy to let the problems crowd in but that strong domestic spirt is very much alive and thriving.
