The 110 entrepreneurs have together set up businesses with a combined value of £82 billion and between them created more than 60,500 jobs. The average value of each of the companies included is £1.32 billion.

For a founder to appear in one of Hurun’s Under40s lists, a person would need to have either founded or co-founded a company considered to be worth at least $100 million.

Digital money management service Revolut is the most valuable company to appear after securing a $45 billion valuation, co-founded in 2015 by Nick Storonsky.

Ben Francis, the university dropout who founded the athleisure brand Gymshark, and Euan Blair, the son of former prime minister Tony Blair, are some of the high-profile business stars to appear in Hurun’s research. The younger Blair’s skills venture, Multiverse has been valued at nearly £1.4 billion.

40% of the entrepreneurs listed have founded a unicorn – a business worth at least $1 billion. Amongst the 44 unicorn founders is Ben Maruthappu who set up patient care app Cera, which has secured contracts with over 300 NHS trusts and is said to be saving the NHS £1 million a day. Fellow unicorns to feature include Fintech credit business Lendable, virtual worlds developer Improbable, insurer Marshmallow, payments provider Paddle and driverless car tech firm Wayve.

Zilch is thought to be the fastest company to achieve unicorn status – achieving a $1 billion valuation within 14 months of launch, with the consumer credit provider Co-Founded by Philip Belamant, Sean O’Connor, and Serge Belamant.

Financial Services is the best-represented part of the economy, accounting for 25% of the 110 entries. There were also strong pools for the Software and Services sector (21%), as well as the Consumer Goods sector (12%).

The Capital dominated the report, with seventy-nine of the 110 entries – more than 70% – owing their place in the research to a London-based business. This was an even greater proportion than Hurun’s recent UK Under 30 and Under 35 lists, where 66% and 48% of the entries stemmed from the capital retrospectively.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, said: “These young business leaders are the future of the British economy. It takes courage to start a business and a lot more to grow to the scale of those we feature here. Each of our founders has built a company worth $100 million – some many multiples of that number.

“The diversity within this list is extraordinary. There are those with PhDs who studied at the world’s top universities and others who left school with few qualifications. There are some building great companies by harnessing AI and similar cutting edge technologies, others creating valuable enterprises by selling everyday items such as makeup, gym wear and lingerie.”

The North West was the second-best represented part of the country with 10 entries in the Under 40s. These included Phil and Tom Beahon, who set up Castore, the fast-growing sports kit manufacturer which has attracted investment from tennis legend, Andy Murray. Another North West based entrepreneur is Alex Solomou, the boss of the media group behind viral video platform LADbible.

The list also includes “Next generation” entries, which are required to manage investments or revenues of $200 million to qualify. Fawn James, a director of London property group Soho Estates, is one of 10 “next generation” entries to make the cut. Her company was initially set up by her grandfather, the Soho legend Paul Raymond.

Others appearing in Hurun’s research who have picked up the reins of their family’s business include Alex and David Campbell, brothers who run a healthcare business that provided Covid testing kits to the NHS during the pandemic.

More than a quarter (26.4%) of the list are not British citizens, emphasising the strong pull the UK has to entrepreneurs from overseas. Out of the foreign entrepreneurs, China and Germany represent the largest contingents, each with four.

Those who were born overseas and started their businesses here include Eric Liu, the Chinese-born founder of the food delivery service HungryPanda, and Bulgarian national Roma Savova, the chief executive of Pension Bee, a retirement planning service now worth more than £370 million.

Hoogewerf added: “Our UK research found a larger proportion of entrepreneurs from overseas than we’ve found from our similar studies in other countries. Britain clearly is a magnet for ambitious young people who want to start and grow their businesses.

“Some of these founders came here to study at university and then stayed. Others are drawn here because of the opportunities to find investment or meet like-minded people to start something up with. It’s vital that this entrepreneurial ecosystem is protected - by creating jobs, generating tax and driving economic growth.”

For a founder to appear in Hurun’s Under40s lists, a person would need to have either founded or co-founded a company considered to be worth at least $100 million – a standard benchmark across the world. “Next generation” entries are required to manage investments or revenues of $200 million to qualify.

The 2024 Hurun UK Under40s are part of a family of more than 3,000 young entrepreneurs from five countries, including China, India, US and Canada. The Hurun Uth series starts with the Under30s and moves through to the Under35s and Under40s.

For more startup news, check out the other articles on the website, and subscribe to the magazine for free. Listen to The Cereal Entrepreneur podcast for more interviews with entrepreneurs and big-hitters in the startup ecosystem.