In quiet corners of suburban England lie two private companies that have skyrocketed to multi-billion-pound valuations in less than a decade, while barely registering in the public consciousness.
Belron and The Access Group are both long-established businesses that are far from the image of hot start-ups with revolutionary products. Located on the outskirts of Egham in the south-east, Belron repairs and replaces car windscreens; The Access Group, based just outside the Midlands town of Loughborough, sells back-office software.
Over the past six months, investors have given both companies valuations that place them among Britain’s biggest companies — €21bn for Belron and £9.2bn for The Access Group. Belron’s valuation has climbed 600 per cent since 2017 and The Access Group has risen an eye-watering 3,800 per cent since 2015.