Departed Bridge directors resurface at Reich-backed start-up broker

Three directors who departed Manchester broker Bridge last December have resurfaced at the helm of start-up company Vista Insurance Brokers.

Gavin Ruben will lead Vista as managing director. He is joined at the start-up by fellow Bridge directors Vaughan Rudd and Peter Warburton.

Vista is backed by Reich Broking Group founders Simon Taylor and Danny Lopian, who have made a “substantial personal investment” in setting up the new broker.  Taylor will chair Vista in addition to his current role as Reich’s chief executive.

The new broker will initially trade as an appointed representative of Reich.

Reich executive officer Richard Grasby told Insurance Times: “The plan is that [Vista] will have autonomy as soon as possible.

“There are a number of areas where we are having staff or departments assist Vista until they are able to stand on their own two feet.”

In addition to the three former Bridge directors, Vista is also in the process of hiring four account handlers. Grasby said the new account handlers, who he declined to name, had not come from “various companies”.

Like Bridge, Vista will be based in Manchester and also have an office in London. It will focus on large corporate commercial business, which is an area that Reich is not currently involved in.

Grasby would not comment on the specifics of Vista’s financial targets but described them as “stretching and ambitious”.

Vista was set up as a separate company rather than a division within Reich because the three former Bridge directors were keen to run their own business.

Ruben said in a statement: “There has been a good deal of speculation as to where the three of us might surface. We knew when we resigned that we wanted to lead our own business, but it was not until recent discussions with Simon and Danny that it was obvious we shared common interests and that for us all to join forces was the logical next step.”