TWO Scottish companies have made it on to the list of one of the UK’s foremost technology awards programmes for the second year running.

Dayshape, an AI software company, and LendingCrowd, a borrowing platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), both made it onto the Deloitte Technology Fast 50.

Deloitte’s awards recognise and rank the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK, based on the last four years of revenue data.

Dayshape has been recognised as the highest ranked Scottish firm for the second year in a row having achieved an average growth rate of 1539% to the year 2019/2020.

The Edinburgh-based software company, formerly Airts, developed an AI-powered platform that helps large professional services firms plan and optimise projects and resources.

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LendingCrowd, which is also based in Edinburgh, is the second Scottish company to be included in this year’s ranking with a growth rate of 779%.

Since 2014, LendingCrowd has helped 932 British businesses fund their ambitions through its SME lending platform.

Dayshape's co-founder and CEO, Andrew Bone, said: "Being included in Deloitte's Fast 50 two years running has been a testament to our amazing team, and the value of the product we've built together. And we're proud to have topped the list for Scotland both years, especially given the development of the tech sector here - we find ourselves in some very impressive company.

“It’s been a challenging year for everyone. Our continued rapid growth is a result of our teams’ hard work, not only to provide a great product and service to our customers, but to maintain our values-driven culture. We see professional services firms’ use of AI-driven technologies accelerating, and expect this to boost our growth even further in 2021. We continue to expand globally, and are seeing increased interest particularly from US firms.

“We’re considering raising investment next year to feed the growth, and have an ambition to hit £200m valuation by 2025, which means doubling revenue every single year.”

Stuart Lunn, the founder and CEO of LendingCrowd, said being included on the list was “testament to the continued investment we have made in our leading-edge fintech platform and the efforts of the entire LendingCrowd team”.

Interest-free credit provider DivideBuy is the overall winner of the 2020 UK Technology Fast 50 award, having achieved an average three-year growth rate of 20,733% to the year 2019/2020.

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The Newcastle-under-Lyme based business employs 50 people and works with more than 500 small, medium and large corporations to provide consumers with access to interest-free credit. The company ranked third in last year’s competition.

Garry Tetley, Deloitte’s lead on Fast 50 in Scotland, commented: “The staggering growth of this year’s Fast 50 is testament to the strength of the UK’s technology industry which has continued to prosper in spite of significant market disruption.

“Their exceptional success in recent years is a marker of their tenacity, commitment and creativity. I would like to offer my personal congratulations to all of this year’s Fast 50 winners.

“Dayshape and LendingCrowd’s continued growth is impressive. For both Scottish companies to be included in the Fast 50 ranking two years in a row is testament to their hard-working teams and distinctive market offering.”