Every year since 2000 the Swedish business daily Dagens Industri has listed the fastest growing companies in Sweden, also known as “Gazelles”. For the second time running City Network has successfully qualified into this exclusive group.
In 2014 almost 900 companies across the country met the criteria and made the list. In the region of the Karlskrona-based hosting company, Blekinge, in the south of Sweden, only six companies qualified as Gazelles.
– Obviously, we are both proud and pleased that we met the exacting standards again this year, says City Networks CEO Johan Christenson. To end up on the list of fast growing companies is not just an acknowledgment of the company’s achievements, but also an endorsement of the quality of our business operations and commercial processes. It is, so to speak, a seal of both quantity and quality.
Fast growing companies play a very important role in the Swedish economy. According to industry research organization Ratio in Stockholm these companies are accountable for virtually the entire Swedish employment growth. During the last fifteen years the Gazelle companies identified by Dagens Industri has generated a total of 215,000 jobs.
– We have hired eight new employees during the last twelve months, which is an increase of the working force with more than 40 percent, and we will probably continue to expand at a similar pace the coming year, says Johan Christenson.
Of course it’s great to demonstrate to the world that it is possible to grow rapidly also in smaller communities outside the metropolitan region of Stockholm. But rapid growth is not an end in itself, underlines the CEO of City Networks.
– For us it is primarily a proof that we are doing the right things in the right order, and that more and more customers discover, appreciate and value our services. We are now firmly established and known in Sweden. And we are getting ready step up our operations in Europe and the world beyond, says Johan Christenson.
The assessments of potential Gazelle companies are based on the companies’ last four annual reports. The conditions that must be met are:
- A turnover exceeding 10 million
- At least 10 employees
- At least a doubled its turnover, when comparing the first and the last fiscal year
- Increased revenue every year for the past three years
- A positive operating result for the combined four financial years
- Essentially organic growth, i.e. not through acquisitions or mergers
- Sound finances