Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger named UK’s fastest-growing business

The media production company co-founded by the former England footballer Gary Lineker and behind The Rest is … podcasts is now the fastest-growing business in Britain in a new ranking.

Goalhanger made £37.9m in sales in 2025, growing at an average annual rate of 321% over the past three years, according to the latest Sunday Times list of the 100 quickest-growing private companies.

The company produces The Rest is … series, including The Rest is History podcast, as well as The Rest is Entertainment – hosted by Richard Osman and the Guardian columnist Marina Hyde; Lineker’s The Rest is Football and The Rest is Politics, hosted by Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell.

Goalhanger’s podcasts exploded in popularity after the coronavirus pandemic, and now together have more than 750 million listeners.

The company, which employs just 80 people at its headquarters in London, has also boosted its sales through paid subscriptions and events. In January it announced it had reached 250,000 paid subscribers for the first time, with reports suggesting that these subscribers generate about £15m in revenue for the company each year.

Tony Pastor, a former controller of sport at ITV, formed Goalhanger’s podcast business with Lineker and former journalist Jack Davenport in 2018. Lineker, who co-presents The Rest is Football, maintains a stake of at least 25% in the business, according to the latest filings at Companies House.

In December, Netflix agreed to broadcast The Rest is Football – presented by Lineker, and fellow former footballers Alan Shearer and Micah Richards – during the World Cup, in a deal reported to be worth £14m.

A month later, the Los Angeles-based investment firm The Chernin Group revealed it had bought a minority stake in Goalhanger. Greg Bettinelli, a partner at TCG, is now a director in the business.

Goalhanger also launched its own venture capital arm this year, aimed at investing in “creator-led media businesses”, such as a stake in Invisible Media and a partnership with Backyard Cricket, both creator-led brands primarily on YouTube.

Lucky Egg, the London-based board games maker, ranked second on the Sunday Times list, with £16.3m in annual sales last year and an average growth rate of 298% in the past three years.

TGG, a legal claims service based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, ranked third, with annual sales of £210.5m and a three-year average growth rate of 269%.

The Sunday Times found on average that the 100 fastest-growing companies had increased their sales by 108% a year over the last three years to a combined £4bn in sales. In total these companies employ 13,700 people.

Out of the 100 companies in the ranking, 45 are based in London, with the rest spread across the country, including four in the north-west, 10 in the south-east, eight each in the east of England and the Midlands, five in Yorkshire and the Humber, four in Wales, three in the south-west, two in Scotland and one in the north-east.

A record 33 of the businesses have female founders, co-founders or chief executives, including Michelle Laithwaite at FuelHub and Megan Rossi at Bio&Me.