The Bristol-based firm designs, makes and sells heated gloves for sport and leisure and has distributors in five countries.

In fact, until recently the business had just one employee: its founder Tony Curtis. That’s because virtually every aspect of the business is outsourced, including manufacturing, accounts and bookkeeping, warehousing, product design, posting and packaging, barcodes, web development and research and development. Even the business office address is virtual, with the job of answering the phone outsourced to a telephone answering company.

Curtis, who came up with the idea for his gloves after seeing his son’s hands turn blue playing rugby, said: “We outsource pretty much everything. It is much more cost-effective.