Former England footballer Gary Lineker’s podcasting company has been named Britain’s fastest-growing company in a new ranking.
Goalhanger made £37.9million in 2025, as its annual average rate soared by 321 per cent over the last three years, in figures revealed in the annual Sunday Times list of the 100 quickest-growing companies.
The firm behind his The Rest is Football show with Alan Shearer and Micah Richards is also responsible for hits The Rest is History; The Rest is Politics, hosted by Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell; and The Rest Is Entertainment with Richard Osman and Mariny Hyde.
Goalhanger, so named as a nod to the former England striker’s football career, continued to boom in popularity after he stepped down last year from his and 26-year tenure on show Match of the Day and his £1,350,000 salary.
Lineker’s career shift from the flagship football show followed significant controversy over politically opinionated social media posts, notably a controversial Instagram post concerning Zionism that featured a depiction of a rat – an image historically associated with antisemitic motifs.
Goalhanger, which employs 80 people in its London HQ, is owned by the ex-footballer alongside Tony Pastor, a former controller of sport at ITV, and former journalist Jack Davenport.
Lineker holds an equity stake of at least 25 per cent, according to Companies House, which funnels into his estimated net worth of £30million.
The company, founded in 2018, entices more than 750 million listeners to tune into the catalogue of shows – which boomed in popularity during the pandemic.
Former England footballer Gary Lineker presents The Rest of Football, produced by his production company Goalhanger, alongside fellow former footballers Micah Richards and Alan Shearer
Lineker stepped down from his 26-year tenure as the presenter for BBC’s Match of the Day in May 2025
The Rest is Football has quickly become one of the world’s biggest sports podcasts, which Lineker presents alongside fellow former footballers Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, and will provide daily coverage of the 2026 Fifa World Cup on Netflix from a studio in New York.
Lineker, 65, denied being ‘in competition with the BBC’ over the coverage, with the broadcaster focusing on live football while he has ‘a show that people can watch alongside’.
The deal between Netflix and Goalhanger, which was announced in December, is reported to be worth £14million.
As the franchise continued to boom, Los Angeles-based investment firm The Chernin Group (TCG) bought a minority share in January this year. Greg Bettinelli, a partner of the firm, is now a director in the business.
TCG, which is led by media mogul Peter Chernin, is behind the production of blockbuster films including Planet Of The Apes and The Greatest Showman.
The Rest Is Entertainment’s Richard Osman (right) and Marina Hyde (left) reecently interviews Sir Paul McCartney (centre)
And The Rest Is History’s TOm Holland (left) also recorded a special with the former Beatle
Goalhanger also launched its own venture capital arm this year, with sights on start-up media businesses, marking the latest expansion of Lineker’s digital media empire.
Lucky Egg, the London-based board games maker, ranked second in the list, which recorded an average sales growth of almost 300 per cent over three years.
A third of the businesses in the top 100 have female founders, co-founders or chief executives, a record high in the fifth year of the list.
Meanwhile, health, wellbeing and fitness brands continued to make strides.
Health supplements brands Ancient + Brave and Free Soul were in the top 10 with average annual sales growth over three years of more than 200 per cent.
Other consumer brands include medical cannabis clinic Mamedica, non-alcoholic aperitif maker Mother Root, and meal delivery service Simmer Eats.
