Motorcycle broker turnover grows to £25m
Motorcycle broker Carole Nash increased its profits marginally to £5.9m during the 2011 financial year (2010: £5.8m) despite the challenging economic environment.
The broker, which was put up for sale by parent Groupama at the start of this year, also boosted turnover to £25m last year (2010: £23.8m).
Carole Nash chief executive David Newman put the modest rises down to the success of developing the company’s marketing campaigns and its 300 staff.
“The economy has presented, and continues to present, particular challenges to the business,” he said. “Motorcycling is often a lifestyle choice, a leisure rather than necessarily practical pursuit, and therefore is more adversely affected by the kind of reductions in disposable income we are seeing during the current economic squeeze.
“That we’ve secured growth, albeit modest, in such testing conditions demonstrates the power of our brand, the astuteness of our marketing and, not least, the endeavours of our dedicated staff in Altrincham and Dublin.”
Newman also pinpointed the launch of forensic coding security system Carole Nash DNA+, which the company is providing as a free benefit with all its motorcycling policies, following successful pilot scheme during the last quarter of 2011 which revealed high customer approval and significant uplifts in online and telephone quote enquiries.
“Carole Nash DNA+ is typical of the kind of innovative and customer-centric innovation for which we are known,” he said. “It was introduced to help our customers minimise the risk of their bike being stolen and to assist in improving the very low recovery rate of stolen motorcycles.
“Bikers understandably love that thinking and that we are providing them with a sophisticated security system totally free. On the flip side, our underwriters also appreciate the pro-active way we are seeking to reduce theft ratios.”
He added that the company’s “added value” brand message had been further underpinned throughout the biking season by the use of targeted promotions. These included providing free excess protection and helmet insurance at key points of the year.
“In a challenging marketplace it’s even more important to stress and support the value of our brand proposition,” said Newman. “By being nimble and bold we were able to underpin our wider marketing campaign with specific promotions which also helped stimulate sales conversion.”
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