McCafferty unveils Brightside strategy as 2017 revenues fall

Revenues fell across the Brightside Group in 2017.

Figures for the year show while the broking division only saw a slight fall in revenue from £27.1m to £26.8m compared to 2016, group revenues fell from £48m to £42m.

However, GWP increased to £100m from £92m and the group EBITDA rose from £3.9m to £5m.

Chief executive Brendan McCafferty, who has only been at the helm for two months, said the report and accounts reflected the continuing need to correct the issues of the past. But he said the business will continue to deal with these in a systematic manner, and was positive about the results.

He said: “Overall these are encouraging results that reflect continued investment in our digital proposition and a relentless focus on improving the way we deal with our customers.”

Digital focus

The taxi and minibus books both doubled GWP for 2017, and McCafferty attributed this to the investment in digital.

The broker launched Brightside Bike in May, joining Brightside Van and Car on the CDL Strata platform.

McCafferty said: “Our comprehensive online self-service portal now allows customers to access policy documents, make mid-term adjustments and accept renewals at any time, as well as getting quotes for other business lines, and this is reflected in our Trustpilot scores for Bristol, which reached 8.3 last year.”

He explained that operational improvements had been instrumental in successfully rebuilding Brightside’s panel and that it underlined the “confidence our insurer partners have in our future prospects”.

The group has brought in improvements to the back office, including robotics, for activities such as documentation, printing and despatch. This was said to have reduced both cost and error rates, improved response times and to have made Brightside more scalable.

Former AXA UK chief executive McCafferty added: “In my experience in both broking and on the insurer side, I believe it is critical that Brightside Group is a winning proposition for insurer partners, customers and our investors. 

“Aligning all three interests is key to being a profitable and sustainable broker.”

Scale

And looking ahead, McCafferty indicated that Brightside would continue to focus on digital being at the heart of the business, alongside building scale to invest and grow, and looking closely at niches. 

And he said this would be complemented by plans to launch the groups own MGA, Kitsune. 

He said: “I’m clear about how we need to operate, and while businesses like ours will always need to be adaptable, there is no need to alter our strategy.

“Looking ahead, I’m excited by the launch of Kitsune, where we have big ambitions, and our niche solutions and SME businesses are well positioned for further growth this year.”

McCafferty also stressed that he was open to suitable acquisitions where they made strategic sense for Brightside and to complement organic growth.

“I am confident that we can deliver further profitable growth for the Group during this year and beyond,” he added.