Biba launch for £24m merged group Antur Insurance Services headed by Stuart Love.
Former Perkins Slade director Stuart Love is heading up a new £24m GWP Welsh broker, Antur Insurance Services, following a merger.
Love, managing director of Swansea-based broker Andrew James Knox (AJK), has joined forces with Hedley Davis in Haverfordwest, and the Carmarthen-based Antur Group to form the South Wales firm.
Love said Antur Insurance Services, which will focus the majority of its business on commerical lines, aims to become a significant player in the broker market: “The joint premium income of our four major partners is £18m and we have additional associate members, which boost that to a total of £24m.” Its remaining business will come from personal lines including home, car and travel.
The group will have 60 staff in seven offices across South Wales, and is set to expand with Llanelli broker Davies Craddock set to join the group in 2011.
It is now concentraing on breaking in to the South East Wales market following Antur’s recent acquisition of Cardiff broker R V Hillier.
“R V Hillier will become our Cardiff Business Centre and it will help us expand as a mid commercial broker," said Love. "Many of the independent firms around here have been swallowed up by national brokers with Head Office bases outside of Wales and this is an ideal opportunity for a Welsh owned, locally based broker to help businesses in Wales.”
Love is familiar with the Welsh market, having previously been managing director of Caerphilly broker Thomas, Carroll Group, before being appointed as a main board director at Birmingham-based Perkins Slade in November 2006, with responsibility for its sport division. He then joined AJK just 12 months after quitting Thomas, Carroll Group.
Antur Insurance Services chairman John Knox said the broker will be unveiled at next week's Biba conference in Glasgow. “This is the biggest event in the industry calendar and an ideal opportunity to introduce ourselves following the merger,” he said.
