IT solutions provider, the fdm group, has made its fourth successive appearance in the list of the country's fastest growing businesses.

fdm, whose annual sales growth of 73.47 per cent has taken it from £7.9m in 1996 to £41.2m last year, is one of only two companies making a fourth consecutive appearance on the Sunday Times/Virgin Atlantic FastTrack 100 list.

During the past year, fdm has been named as one of Europe's top 500 companies and also made on the Dun & Bradstreet's Hot 100 list for the third successive year.

The success, which has made fdm a key player in the IT sector, includes the acquisition of a Luxembourg-based IT recruitment consultancy and a £2 million contract to supply technical expertise for the high-profile, award winning Schoolsnet web site. But fdm is also a company with a social conscience.

It has introduced a number of innovative training courses aimed at helping people get back into the jobs market and managing director Rod Flavell, has a "work hard, play hard" attitude.

He said: "You have to be on your toes in this industry, which calls for clear thinking, sound strategy and speedy implementation.

"We have a great and hard-working team here. We make sure they get an opportunity to let their hair down from time to time by organising parties, outings and the occasional overseas trip.

"This latest accolade from the FastTrack 100 is a tribute to the whole fdm team."