Almost a fifth of the top 500 fastest-growing IT in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are in the UK

Ninety-one of the top 500 fastest-growing IT firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are based in the UK.

France is in second place with 68, according to the annual index published today by Deloitte.

While individual Israeli firms took first, second and third place, the UK's Bybox Holding came fifth, just behind TomTom International of the Netherlands.

Financial volatility has made little impact, said Deloitte technology, media and telecoms group managing partner Igal Brightman.

"The current financial turbulence and economic uncertainty does not appear to have made the front-runners in the technology race in EMEA either slow their pace or lose their focus," he said.

Confidence is high among chief executive officers (CEO). Four fifths said they were confident that growth rates would continue over the next two years.

Average five-year revenue growth across all 500 firms is a record 1443 percent. An equivalent survey in the US firms showed slowing revenue growth for the same period, from 6772 percent to 1823 percent between 2002 and 2007.