Oxygen Insurance Brokers (OIB) made a profit of £95,229 in 2010, down 86.5% on the £707,398 it made in 2009.
The broker attributed the decline in profits to the turbulence caused by the untimely death of Sean Hicks, the head of Oxygen’s Leeds-based corporate risks department, in 2009, and the subsequent defection of some of his former colleagues in 2010.
“The reorganisation and defence of that office’s client base was a huge distraction, resulted in a significant loss of revenue, extra costs and legal remedies culminating in a favourable legal settlement,” Oxygen said in a Companies House filing.
Insurance Times revealed in January 2010 that three members of the Leeds office – Richard Butler, Graeme McIntyre and Keith Florence – had resigned. The company later made several new hires to the Leeds office.
OIB’s turnover dropped 4% to £7.4m from £7.7m, while administrative expenses increased 5% to £7.4m from £7m.
Despite the turmoil in the corporate risks division, Oxygen said its UK wholesale business, Oxygen Partners, had a “marvellous” 2010, posting revenue growth of 43%.
The company said it expected organic growth in 2011. “[We] have set a budget for 2011 which shows conservative revenue growth in most areas of the business and that, combined with various cost-cutting initiatives, starts to deliver a growing profit margin,” the Companies House filing reads.
Oxygen chief executive Nigel Barton told Insurance Times that the company had now put the corporate risk's division's difficult 2010 behind it.
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