Widget: We are the UK's fastest-growing distie

Widget claims no other mid-sized or large distributor can match its growth following Companies House analysis

Widget UK Ltd claims its analysis of Companies House documents confirms it is the country's fastest-growing large or medium-sized distributor.

The consumer electronics specialist, whose vendors include Pebble, TomTom, Fitbit and Sphero, more than doubled sales to £58m in its last financial year.

The Stevenage-based firm said none of the other 26 IT and consumer electronics distributors it tracks which report sales of £20m or more in the UK to Companies House could match that growth rate.

Sales for Widget's current financial year are also set to show "high growth", with its latest star product, the Sphero BB8 robot - as featured in the new Star Wars film - selling well through all major retailers over Christmas, it said.

Widget's analysis shows the top three distributors, Tech Data, Exertis and Westcoast, all generating UK sales of more than £1bn in their most recently reported financial years.

Widget itself ranked 23rd after growing sales 132 per cent to £58m in its financial year ending 31 March 2015.

It should be noted that Avnet Technology Solutions was not included in the table, with Widget claiming that parent Avnet Inc "no longer reports the results of any meaningful subsidiary to Companies House in the UK".

Computerlinks and Computers Unlimited ranked eighth and twelfth in the table despite having been snapped up by larger firms, in the shape of Arrow and Exertis respectively.

With 21st-placed Wick Hill and 19th-placed Zycko also having been acquired by Rigby Group in recent months, Widget chairman Mark Needham said consolidation in the UK distribution channel is continuing apace.

"The market is still moving towards fewer and larger players," he said.

Having a strong product selection was the key to Widget's growth spurt in recent years, Needham (pictured) said.

"It's about having a selection of products the market wants.

"We're in wearable technology which is a fantastic growth area. Whatever the state of the overall UK market, there's always one or two sectors which are really growing fast, and wearables is certainly one of them."