On Trakm8 for growth

AA, Direct Line and other insurers use Trakm8's vehicle-tracking products and services to evaluate drivers' behaviour and inform their premiums. Meanwhile, fleet managers such as Saint Gobain install the group's devices in cars and trucks to measure emissions and ensure economical driving - lowering costs, boosting efficiency and improving security.

Dorset-based Trakm8 is focused on creating ongoing revenue streams from its customers by rolling out its telematics 'black boxes' then collecting monthly service fees. The strategy drove annualised recurring revenue up 65 per cent to £7.5m in the year to March 2015, contributing to organic sales growth of 73 per cent.

Acquisitions are being used to accelerate growth, widen the product range and generate significant cost savings. Following its takeover of peer Box in 2013, Trakm8 has consolidated its activities to cut costs and increase productivity, invested in its systems and raised its manufacturing capacity to meet growing hardware demand. And in June it acquired DCS, which designs and sells dashboard cameras and other video technology for the motor vehicle, bicycle and security markets. Management expects the deal to allow it to satisfy motorists' growing demand to record driving incidents and fend off fraudulent claims.

And new customers continue to flock to Trakm8. It inked a five-year fleet contract worth around £1.1m with UK logistics group Bibby Distribution in June, and has launched new products including a self-installed telematics box and a Bluetooth low-energy device. Moreover, the group grew its base of installed devices by 23 per cent to 127,000 in the five-month period to the end of August, and new orders booked were 19 per cent ahead of the same period in 2014.

Big data also promises exciting growth potential for the group. Its data scientists are trawling through information collected from its devices to craft algorithms that can reduce vehicle breakdowns, predict when servicing will be needed and lower the cost of ownership. Those should improve Trakm8's products and be invaluable to automotive after-market and roadside assistance customers. And while the group remains chiefly a domestic concern with more than 90 per cent of turnover last year coming from the UK, management is also eyeing overseas expansion.