FIVE Oxfordshire firms scooped places in a new list of the UK's 100 fastest growing firms.

Computer company Connectology, of Thame, was the highest of the Oxfordshire firms, taking ninth place in the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table.

Connectology, which instals computer networks and development Internet Web sites, was formed in 1994 by Jonathan Wagstaffe and Tom Redmond after their employer went bust.

Sales have grown at 128 per cent each year from £358,000 in 1995 to £4.2m last year.

Mr Wagstaffe said: "We work to the principle that is far easier and cheaper to service an existing customer well than go out and find another one."

The league table, now in its third year, is backed by Virgin tycoon Richard Branson and compiled by Dr Hamish Stevenson, Virgin Atlantic Research fellow in Entrepreneurship at of Templeton College.

Leisure operator Brown Rock, of Burford, is in 21st place. It was set up by David Lindsay and Daniel Holmes six years ago to buy underperforming businesses in the European ski sector.

Company sales have increased by 110 per cent each year, from £523,000 in 1995 to £5m last year.

Its property portfolio now includes hotels, restaurants and nightclubs and the franchise rights for Pizza Express restaurants throughout the French and Swiss Alps.

Mr Lindsay said: "Our big problem in the early days was credibility. People thought we were looking for money to finance a lifestyle as ski bums."

Other Oxfordshire firms in the list are Internet electrical goods retailer Value Direct, of Banbury, in 26th place; conference organiser Conference Creations, of Henley, in 68th; and computer printer software developer Software 2000, based at the Oxford Science Park, 72nd.

First place went to Drive Assist UK, of Tamworth Staffordshire, which provides cars for no-fault accident victims and recovers costs from insurers.

Story date: Tuesday 07 December

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.