January 2003 marks a very important anniversary for one of South Wales'
largest employers and one of the region's business success stories. Car
insurance company, Admiral first started trading ten years ago this month.
When Admiral launched in January 1993 it had no customers, 57 members
of staff and just one brand. Today it has over 700,000 customers, 1,500
members of staff and six brands, making it one of the UK's largest direct
insurance groups.
Chicago-born Henry Engelhardt set up the company. He was recruited by
the Brockbank Group, a syndicate of Lloyd's who saw the potential of a
new direct car insurer, targeting those who traditionally pay higher premiums;
including drivers under 35, living in big cities and driving hot hatches.
Henry is now the chief executive of Admiral Group Ltd (AGL). He said,
"It was an exciting time when we launched. We had an excellent business
plan and knew our market, so were confident we'd succeed. But looking
back I'm not sure even I could have envisaged the phenomenal ten years
we have had."
The first five years saw AGL expand rapidly and three new brands were
established. Gladiator Commercial, a broker for small commercial vehicles;
Bell Direct for those with full no claims bonus and people who pay by
credit card and Diamond, aimed at women drivers. This growth also meant
the company had to expand out of Cardiff and it chose Swansea as the location
of its second office.
In 1999 the ownership of the company changed hands when Henry Engelhardt
led a management buy-out, with the backing of Barclays Private Equity.
At the time, the business was valued at £60 - £80 million.
Henry said of the buy-out, "We felt the time was right for an MBO.
We felt somewhat restrained by Brockbank, and knew that by owning the
business ourselves we could expand it in our own way and reach new customers."
AGL's first major development of the new millennium was the launch of
elephant.co.uk, the UK's first complete on-line car insurer, in August
2000. elephant.co.uk has since grown at a spectacular rate and now has
over 125,000 customers and was AGL's fastest growing brand last year.
2002 proved to be AGL's most successful year yet. The company turnover
was nearly £380 million and the total number of customers topped
the 700,000 figure. But what is the secret of Admiral's business success?
Henry Engelhardt puts it down to simple good money management; "We
have always been in control of our expenditure. We have a reputation for
having the best expense ratio in the insurance industry, it is close to
half the industry average and we strive to be cost efficient in every
area of our business.
"It is also very important to us that our staff are happy here.
We have a simple philosophy, people who enjoy what they do, do it better,
so we encourage our staff to have fun while they are in work. We have
featured in The Sunday Times' list of Top 100 Companies to Work For the
last two years."
AGL and its staff have been recognised with a number of top Welsh business
awards. It was named Welsh Company of the Year in 1999 and last year Henry
Engelhardt was named Welsh Business Achiever of the Year at the Western
Mail Business Awards. Ironically, despite being wholly based in Wales,
Admiral's main customer base is elsewhere in the country; in London, the
Southeast and in Scotland. Henry Engelhardt said, " Ten years ago
we could have set up anywhere in the UK, but once we saw South Wales and
the opportunities here, we knew it was the perfect location. As it happens
the Welsh accent is appealing to our customers which is also a bonus."
Issue date: 02-01-03
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