A TECH company started by a graduate trading as a one-man-band on eBay has been named one of the fastest growing in the UK.

Brighton-based photo and video equipment trading platform MPB, has this week ranked in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 league table highlighting Britain’s fastest-growing private tech (TMT) companies.

In the past year, MPB has grown its revenue to £7.4 million, with a year-on-year growth of 44%. While 40% of firms on the league table receive venture capital backing, MPB has achieved its growth to-date without taking any external equity funding and has been profitable since day one.

Founded in 2006 by then-22-year-old graduate Matt Barker trading through eBay, MPB now has a team of 27 imaging experts in Brighton quoting for £16 million worth of photo and video products annually through a sophisticated custom-designed technology platform.

MPB is also expanding internationally, with a European rollout of the trading platform beginning with Germany this autumn.

A new office in Manhattan, home to the two largest independent photographic retailers in the world, opens soon ahead of a full US launch in January 2016. Revenue is expected to reach £47 million by 2019.

Founder and chief executive Matt Barker, who grew up in Haywards Heath, credited the company's growth with its location in Brighton's tech cluster.

He said: “The last year has seen great growth for MPB, with increased revenue , continued investment in technology, and a move into higher-end photo and video equipment such as Leica, and Hasselblad cameras, and Blackmagic and RED video equipment.

“The coming year looks to be the most exciting yet. We’re launching the latest version of our site, and a new mobile app, will be opening up a US sister company in Manhattan, and rolling the platform out to Germany — the first country in our move into the European market.

“We’re thrilled to receive recognition of how much our loyal customers value having an efficient, straightforward way of selling and buying used photo and video equipment online, avoiding the hassles that can come with traditional peer-to-peer online marketplaces”.

MPB is one of four Brighton tech companies in this year’s Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100, featuring alongside Crunch Accounting, Brandwatch and Ideal Networks.