Ellie Horvath
At Best Startup London we track over 100,000 London based startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and organisations we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
We’ve ranked the top 101 Retail companies in London. The companies, startups and institutions listed in this article are all exceptional companies, well worth a follow. We have included links to their websites, socials and CrunchBase (if you’re interested in their financials).
We selected the organisations listed in this article based on:
- Track record
- Executive leadership
- Market share
- Innovation
- ESG rating
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Top Retail Companies & Startups (London)
Ted Baker
| Founders | Ray Kelvin |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Ted Baker plc is a British luxury clothing retail company.
Arcadia Group
| Founders | Unknown |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Arcadia Group Ltd. is a British multinational retailing company
Global Risk Partners
| Founders | Stephen Ross |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Global Risk Partners is an investment vehicle aimed at insurance brokers and managing general agents trading in the UK retail and global.
Debenhams
| Founders | William Debenham |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Debenhams is a multi-channel brand that operates department stores offering women’s clothing, menswear, beauty, kids, and homeware products.
SportPursuit
| Founders | Adam Pikett, Rhys Jones, Victoria Walton |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
SportPursuit is a UK-based private-sale sports website.
Appear Here
| Founders | Ross Bailey |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Appear Here is an online marketplace for retail space.
ZigZag Global
| Founders | Al Gerrie, Laurence Guy |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
ZigZag Global is a software platform that helps retailers manage their returns globally.
Founders Factory
| Founders | Brent Hoberman, George Northcott, Henry Lane Fox, Jim Meyerle |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Founders Factory is a global corporate-backed venture studio and accelerator.
Vashi
| Founders | Vashi Dominguez |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Vashi is a fine jewellery brand that offers a genuinely unique, disruptive, and omni-channel retail experience.
YOPA
| Founders | Alistair Barclay, Andrew Barclay, Daniel Attia, David Jacobs |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
YOPA provides real estate agency services that assist clients in selling their properties.
eve Sleep
| Founders | James Fryer, Jas Bagniewski, Kuba Wieczorek |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
eve Sleep is a pioneer of luxury sleep solutions, promising the perfect start to every day thanks to a guaranteed great night’s sleep.
Simba Sleep
| Founders | James Cox, Steve Reid |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Simba Sleep is an e-commerce company that offers a variety of mattresses.
Creoate
| Founders | Ashley Horn, Fahad Khan |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Creoate is on a mission to make wholesale work for independents.
Swapi
| Founders | Pete Howroyd |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Swapi is the only digital wallet globally that allows users to swap their loyalty rewards, cashback & gift cards between brands.
HYPERVSN
| Founders | Art Stavenka, Kiryl Chykeyuk |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
HYPERVSN is a hardware-enabled technology platform that enables users to create and display 3D holographic content without any headgear.
Storm5
| Founders | Olivier Kerckhove |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Storm5 are global RetailTech recruitment experts, connecting organizations with the talent to drive their mission.
KodyPay
| Founders | Jack Howell, Joshua Roel, Morgan Hammans, Yoyo Chang |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Revolutionising in-person payments to grow your business with a trustworthy and innovative solution.
Purple Dot
| Founders | John Talbott, Madeline Parra |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Purple Dot allows consumers to request a “worth-the-wait” lower price.
Wolf & Badger
| Founders | George Graham, Henry Graham |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Wolf & Badger is a multi-channel retail platform for the finest independent, ethical and unique brands from around the globe.
Beelivery
| Founders | Lee Parkinson, Yazan Bin Mohammad |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
The UK’s largest nationwide, 15-60 minute grocery delivery service. A tech focused logistics marketplace, crowdsourcing from 10,000 drivers.
MyOptique Group
| Founders | Jamie Murray |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
The MyOptique Group is an online optical store offering prescription glasses, sunglasses and contact lenses.
Butter.co.uk
| Founders | Stefan Hobl, Timothy Davis |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Butter lets you spread the cost of shopping from any online store with a simple monthly instalment plan. Download the app now!
Poplar Studio
| Founders | David Ripert, Laurie Ainley |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Poplar is a creative platform that enables brands and retailers to produce 3D and AR experiences on-demand, powered by a talent cloud.
Honest Burgers
| Founders | Dorian Waite |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
A burger restaurant inspired by great British produce
AEVI
| Founders | Unknown |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
AEVI provides a platform for merchant-facing businesses that enables them to upgrade to more agile, more data-driven propositions.
Mous
| Founders | James Day, James Griffith, Joshua Shires, Lucy Hutchinson |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Mous is a fashion tech brand that designs and manufactures protective accessories.
Vinterior
| Founders | Leslie Fournier, Sandrine Zhang Ferron |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Vinterior is the online marketplace to discover, buy and source vintage & antique furniture
CUDONI
| Founders | James Harford-Tyrer |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Europe’s only full-service luxury resale platform. Effortlessly buy and sell authentic designer items at up to 90% off retail price.
Threedium
| Founders | Dusan Odobasic, Kyriacos Kyprianou, Lode Groosman, Mike Charalambous, Xose Lois Fernandez Cañizares |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
We create memorable brand experiences, drive product considerations and deliver conversions through 3D/AR Technology.
Bother
| Founders | Douglas Morton |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Bother operates as an online grocery delivery startup.
Rotageek
| Founders | Chris McCullough, Nick Mann, Roy Pounder |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Using data-driven technology to meet demand, engage teams, and drive efficiency.
RevLifter
| Founders | Ryan Kliszat, Simon Bird |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
RevLifter is an AI powered technology provider helping brands increase revenue through real-time personalised offers.
Feelunique.com
| Founders | Aaron Chatterley |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Feelunique.com is an online e-commerce platform that offers beauty products and related advice.
Heat
| Founders | Unknown |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Heat is a clothing platform intended to encourage sustainable fashion
NearSt
| Founders | Max Kreijn, Nick Brackenbury, Thomas Schoffelen |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
NearSt is a retail technology company building the world’s source of real-time local inventory.
Trunomi
| Founders | Stuart Lacey |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Enterprise Privacy Platform allowing companies to meet all regulatory requirements for global Data Privacy Regulations
Dent Reality
| Founders | Andrew Hart |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Dent Reality develops an augmented reality platform that helps users find their favorite products on the market.
Hyperion Insurance Group
| Founders | David Howden |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Hyperion is an international insurance intermediary group with insurance broking and underwriting agency arms.
Olvin
| Founders | Sam Amrani |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Olvin helps real-world businesses get proactive through its AI powered predictive analytics platform.
The Sports Edit
| Founders | Nick Paulson-Ellis |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
The Sports Edit is a multi-channel retailer.
Sona
| Founders | Ben Dixon, Oli Johnson, Steffen Wulff Petersen |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Sona is the employee app for tomorrow’s workforce.
Quorso
| Founders | Daniel Slowe, Julian Mills |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
A new era for store management: Agile. Simple. Human.
gigl
| Founders | Christian Ayerst, Dan Hudson |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
The Video / Mobile 1st Job platform that is changing the way people find work across Hospitatly, Retails & Enterntainment. Replacing generic Job descrptions and the need for a CV with super vast video content. Companies such as Hard Rock use GiGL to find staff in under 24 hours
Kick Game
| Founders | David Franks, Robert Franks |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Kick Game is a fast growing e-commerce & retail company with a rapidly expanding global user base comprised of passionate enthusiasts.
Coniq
| Founders | Ben Chesser |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Coniq is the Total Customer Engagement Company.
Kindred
| Founders | Aaron Simpson, Alex Packham, Dan Bricken, Mike Gadd |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Kindred is an impact driven tech company that has developed the world’s first sustainable app monetization network.
Qudini – Retail Choreography
| Founders | Fraser Hardy, Imogen Wethered |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Retail Choreography solutions to transforming customer experience, operations and data for retailers and banks.
Watchfinder
| Founders | Lloyd Amsdon, Stuart Hennell |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Watchfinder is the world’s leading retailer of pre-owned watches
cloud.IQ
| Founders | James Critchley, Paul Phillips |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
cloud.IQ is an AI and machine learning based automated conversion rate optimisation platform for e-commerce businesses.
MADE
| Founders | Brent Hoberman, Chloe Macintosh, Julien Callede, Ning Li |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Made.com is an online e-commerce platform directly providing designer furniture without third party involvement.
BotsAndUs
| Founders | Adrian Negoita, Andrei Danescu, Oana Andreea Jinga |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
BotsAndUs is a data-driven robotics and AI company that provides full-stack robot systems for dynamic spaces.
Matches Fashion
| Founders | Ruth Chapman, Tom Chapman |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Matches Fashion is a multi-brand fashion retailer that offers the latest fashion from designer brands.
Duel
| Founders | Panagiotis Tsarouchis, Paul Archer |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Brand Advocacy Platform that enables purpose-led brands to drive organic growth & retention through word-of-mouth & advocacy
Leanpay
| Founders | Misa Zivic |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Leanpay is an omni-channel POS financing company that aims to disrupt consumer loans segment, and help consumers buy products they need.
Intelistyle
| Founders | Kostas Koukoravas, Michael Michelis |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Intelistyle provides A.I. styling solutions to fashion retailers, helping them address the needs of customers looking for styling advice.
TravelTime Technologies
| Founders | Charlie Davies, Peter Lilley |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Technology that can map, rank and sort location based data by travel time instead of distance. Available as an API or analytics plugins.
pepperhq
| Founders | Charles Hall, Matthew Scott, Simon Kelton, Stuart Hall |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
The Pepper platform supports white label apps for mobile payment, discovery, digital loyalty, social media marketing, and actionable data.
Taylor & Hart
| Founders | David Sutton, Nikolay Piriankov, Shane Hunt |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Taylor & Hart make proposing with a custom designed, high quality engagement ring, easy, affordable and enjoyable.
Wevat
| Founders | Patrick McClurg, Raphael Chow |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Wevat is the best way to get your tax back on shopping in the UK.
ThirdEye
| Founders | Peter Rennert, Razwan Ghafoor, Thomas Purchas |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Building real-time CCTV powered AI assistants to put in the hands of public space workers.
Shopi
| Founders | Asli Kubilay, Mehmet Çağrı Göncü, Turgut Yazıcı |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
The mobile platform of new generation retailing
Perfect Moment
| Founders | Jane Gottschalk, Thierry Donard |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Perfect Moment is an online fashion marketplace that offers ski, surf, and activewear collections.
Live Better With
| Founders | Tamara Rajah |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Make life a little bit better with 100s of recommended products for people living with cancer.
Bower Collective
| Founders | Marcus Hill, Nick Troday |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Bower Collective is a direct-to-consumer digital platform for sustainable home and personal care products.
Greendeck
| Founders | Aayush Agarwal, Aayush Jain, Aditya Joshi, Yashvardhan Srivastava |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Greendeck uses AI to help brands and retailers with pricing optimisation and competitor intelligence.
Secret Sales
| Founders | Chris Griffin, Matt Purt |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
E-commerce Marketplace
Nethermind
| Founders | Tomasz Kajetan Stanczak |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
API marketplace with blockchain payments for pay as you go for API usage, Ethereum clients, infrastructure and consulting.
Proximity Insight
| Founders | Cathy McCabe, Kris Moyse, Matt Lacey |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Enterprise Retail SaaS Tech built on Salesforce.com
Everpress
| Founders | Alex Econs |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
A global marketplace enabling creators to monetise their brand. No risk. No waste.
more2
| Founders | Kevin McSpadden |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
We believe to be great, you have to be single-minded in your focus. Our focus is on growing retail businesses.
Oddbox
| Founders | Deepak Ravindran, Emilie Vanpoperinghe |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Oddbox is a provider of fruit and veg box delivery service intended to reduce food waste.
Sook
| Founders | Daniel Burnham, John Hoyle |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Sook is a retail asset management solution that transforms vacant retail units into customizable digital spaces that are rented by the hour
Victoria Beckham
| Founders | Sarah Creal, Victoria Beckham |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Victoria Beckham is a fashion brand that creates and markets a collection of apparel and accessories in over 50 countries.
Cornerstone
| Founders | Oliver Bridge |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Cornerstone is a subscription service for men’s toiletries.
Yoox Net-a-Porter Group
| Founders | Federico Marchetti |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Yoox Net-a-Porter Group is the global Internet retailing partner for leading fashion and luxury brands.
OpenSensors
| Founders | Malcolm Sparks, Yodit Stanton |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
OpenSensors is an internet of things company that builds a connected world that puts people first.
Kantar
| Founders | Unknown |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Kantar is the data investment management division of WPP, is a global insight, information, and consultancy network.
Taggstar
| Founders | Fraser Robinson |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Real-time social proof message expert for enterprise eCommerce | Conversion uplift by up to 12% | Shop Direct, N Brown, TUI, Missguided use.
Satoshi Systems Limited
| Founders | Saurabh Goyal |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Satoshi Systems provides state of the art software solutions for the trading space, currently focusing on the commodity.
Vivobarefoot
| Founders | Galahad Clark |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
UK-based shoe brand and Crowdcube alum
ORDR
| Founders | Carlos Butler Almécija, Francesco Boffa |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Online in-restaurant food ordering, queueing and reservation, and takeaway ordering software.
YOOBIC
| Founders | Fabrice Haiat, Gilles Haiat, Thierry Haiat |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
YOOBIC is an all-in-one platform for the deskless workforce to optimize communication, training, and process management.
Mention Me
| Founders | Andy Cockburn, Tim Boughton |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Harness the exponential power of your brand fans
Farfetch
| Founders | José Neves |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Farfetch is an online luxury fashion retail platform.
BlackCurve
| Founders | Charles Huthwaite, Philip Huthwaite |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
B2B SaaS pricing automation solution. We help retailers make profitable pricing decisions.
Staff Heroes
| Founders | Mark Elwig, Zeki Mirza |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Staff Heroes is an on demand & AI technology marketplace reinventing the world of work, connecting businesses and workers more efficiently.
Gig
| Founders | Antony Woodcock |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Gig offers a platform for millennials who want to pick up shift work in the hospitality and retail sectors.
Harper
| Founders | Liam Young |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Harper delivers the in-store experience to online customers.
Cheerfy
| Founders | Adrian Maseda, Carlos Gomez Vendrell |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
The new way restaurants sell post-COVID
Clickerance
| Founders | Damilare Ogunleye, Santiago Schmitt |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Clickerance enables personalized online food discovery for people with dietary requirements, restrictions or preferences.
PANGAIA
| Founders | Miroslava Duma |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
PANGAIA is a materials science company that brings innovations and patents into the world through lifestyle products.
OPUMO
| Founders | Harry Beattie, Nick Ayoub |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
OPUMO is building the digital department store of the future connecting brands with customers through a content-rich shopping platform.
MYSALE Group
| Founders | Kevin Cliffe |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
MYSALE Group is an aggregate of 11 online shopping destinations, across 8 countries.
Ksubaka
| Founders | Giles Corbett, Julian Corbett |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
We provide powerful immersive brand experience & data platform which allows brands & retailers to link offline customers to online profiles
Compare Ethics
| Founders | Abbie Morris, James Omisakin |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
The sustainable platform that makes it easy for conscious consumers to find verified sustainable products.
SOZIE
| Founders | Tahreem Arshad |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Sozie is the leading on-demand community and employee generated content platform for brands and retailers globally.
The Stem
| Founders | James Folger |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
The Stem is an online garden center that aims to be a leading digital brand in UK garden retail market.
Loyalzoo
| Founders | Massimo Sirolla |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Digital loyalty system for independent retailers and eateries
Ollie Quinn
| Founders | Ben Moffitt, David Garrett |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Ollie Quinn is a branded retailer of prescription glasses, sunglasses and non-prescription polarised sunglasses based in the UK and Canada.
Vision Direct
| Founders | Michael Kraftman |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Vision Direct provides contact lenses, contact lens solutions, and eye care products online.
reboxed
| Founders | Phil Kemish |
| Follow | Website, Crunchbase, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin |
Recommerce platform – E-commerce, SaaS and on-demand buyback of consumer electronics
