Company will continue to build US platform
BMS is on track to meet its target of surpassing revenues of £100m in 2015/16, according to chief executive Carl Beardmore.
In an interview with Insurance Times, Beardmore said the company was continuing to build out its US platform, adding new staff and actuarial and analytics expertise.
“We have a very clear journey planned and so far that journey has been exactly as we expected and desired,” he said.
“We are very much on track and the key marker in the journey is that 2015/16 number of surpassing £100m worth of revenue, and that will dictate whether we are running at the right speed and reaching the location at the right time.”
He continued: “Fundamentally it is our aspiration to become a compelling and highly influential and independent broker in the US.”
BMS has pumped in £15m ($24m) of investment into developing the business, including strengthening its US reinsurance platform, with the opening of new offices in Chicago, Philadelphia and Minneapolis generating $8m in new reinsurance business, and enlarging and restructuring its wholesale team over the past 18 months.
BMS group finance director Paul Vincent said the company had made some big changes over the past two years, taking the decision in early to mid-2010 to appoint a new chief executive, to reposition its US business and move the headquarters from Dallas to Minneapolis, to beef up its broking resources and to develop and underwriting platform.
The company achieved one of its main objectives after launching its new MGA Pioneer Underwriting in April 2011 with the backing of Liberty, and recruiting Nick Cook to run the wholesale side.
Pioneer more than broke even in its first year, writing £15m in gross premiums, and Vincent expects it to triple its revenues in 2012.
BMS has also grown its staff base from about 280 employees to 360 since the start of 2011, releasing staff from its Dallas office and rehiring in Minneapolis, with £5.5m invested in new front office teams, said Vincent.
“We don’t expect, in 2011, particularly in reinsurance, to generate much new revenue because of the nature of the renewal profile,” he said.
“The key thing we are very pleased about is that, as we go into 2012, we have already spread quite a significant amount of business on the reinsurance side, which has given us a good bedrock.”
BMS grew its profits by 16% during 2011 through organic improvement as new hires brought their accounts across with them.
Vincent said BMS had done its own financing, but had arranged a bank loan which it expected to use this year.
Last year the company reached an agreement with AHJ Holdings Ltd (AHJ) to acquire the shares owned by AHJ for a fixed price of £8m. During 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, BMS acquired the first tranche of the AHJ holding and the share buyback resulted in a reduction in net assets of £4.2m at the year end. Vincent said BMS intends to acquire the balance of the shares early next year.
Beardmore said BMS’ UK wholesale operation would focus on continuing to make significant inroads into the South Africa, Asia and Australasia over the next year.
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