Pure passion and ambition has taken British e-commerce giant Hut Group (THG) in just 16 years from being a start-up in Greater Manchester to a globally renowned end-to-end tech platform, powering the exponential growth of leading brands. The business has grown to operate across 169 countries in 31 languages and 39 currencies.

A first-time Best Company to Work For, THG was founded by Matthew Moulding and John Gallemore. It operates under four key divisions – THG Beauty; THG Nutrition; THG Lifestyle and THG Experience as one business; and THG Ingenuity. Under Ingenuity, it has more than 200 online retail sites with its end-to-end service and clients include Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, PZ Cussons and Procter & Gamble.

One of Greater Manchester's so-called five unicorns – privately owned tech start-ups with a valuation over £720m ($1bn) – THG last year raised £1.88bn in a huge UK flotation and it was valued at £6.8bn at the end of 2020.

Brands include Lookfantastic, one of the leading beauty retailers in Europe; MyProtein nutrition products; THG Lifestyle consumer and luxury goods; while THG Experience includes Hale Country Club in Cheshire, and King Street Townhouse Hotel and the Great John Street Hotel, both in Manchester.

Around 68% of employees were able to work from home in the past year. Those at the company's hotels were furloughed on 100% of their salary, paid by THG directly. The remaining 30%, comprising warehouse staff, were provided with PPE and offered free Gousto-style meal plans to take home, to reduce the need to visit supermarkets.