47. Natilik

Revenue: £86.5m (+15%)

Staff: 249

This Cisco Gold partner in January 2023 became the first CRN Top VAR to achieve certified B Corporation status, a movement for compaines which balance profit with purpose. A new parent company set up on 16 February 2021 generated pro-forma revenues of £86.5m in its year to 31 March 2022 (a 15 per cent annual improvement), according to draft accounts Natilik shared. Recurring revenues rose from 52 to 54 per cent of the total. Around two-thirds (167) of Natilik's employees are now shareholders.

Q&A with Natilik CEO Mike Danson

In January 2023, Natilik became the first company in this report to achieve B Corp status. What made you go for it in the first place?

We've always believed that growing a business is more than just about shareholder return, but we've never been able to really prove to anyone objectively that we're actually stepping up on those things. That's what we were looking for: something that would allow us to prove that - a bit like how audited accounts force people to a common standard. B Corp is one of the ways that's now internationally recognised to say, objectively, that you're stepping up on some of the things you should be doing around the broader stakeholder community.

How hard was it to get?

You can't fake it. You have to prove you're doing it. It costs money and time, and we got an external consultant to guide us through the process.

Have you seen any similar businesses get the certification?

I think we're definitely the first to do it [in our market]. And I honestly think that it will become a bit like audited accounts. I think it will start to become almost non-negotiable that people have to prove the stuff they're saying they're doing.