Jelf Insurance Brokers set for 'aggressive' growth despite dip in revenue and profits
Premium finance arrangements are the reason behind the shortfall in Jelf Group’s insurance business, says chief executive Alex Alway.
Mr Alway spoke following the release of Jelf’s final results for the year ended 30 September 2010, which revealed that while the overall group's profits grew, revenue for the insurance broking division dipped slightly to £42.9m (2009: £43.7m) and EBITDAE also dropped from £5.2m in 2009 to £4.3m this year.
Putting the drop down to premium finance arrangements the broker had with certain clients, Mr Alway claimed: "Overall insurance trading has been buoyant and new business is actually up 27%."
He said Jelf was starting to see the benefits of the major rebrand that had been undertaken by insurance CEO Phil Barton since his appointment in April last year.
As a result of a review into its personal lines business, Jelf has made the decision to hire a new managing director, Antony Summers, for this part of the business. According to Mr Alway, in his new role Mr Summers will focus on growing the business and exploring how to connect personal lines more closely with commercial products.
Mr Alway also outlined his hopes for the corporate side of the business: "Jelf has not always been strong in the corporate market but we now believe that we will be able to offer clients a personalised service that some of the bigger players can't. We plan to invest and grow aggressively in this area."
Mr Alway referred to Jelf's network of independent brokers, Purple, as one of its "best kept secrets".
Purple has experienced a 49% increase in revenue this year and its members now control approximately £100m gross written premium.
"We have let others crow from the roof tops. With 50 members now signed, this is rapid growth by anyone's standards. Purple may not be the biggest network but it is the best quality," he added.
