Management: Chief executive Alex Alway’s game plan for the rest of this year involves hiring another 20 account executives and making a series of bolt-on acquisitions.
This will follow an established approach for the business, which comprises Jelf Insurance Brokers, Jelf Manson, Jelf Clarke Roxburgh, Jelf Lampier and Jelf Professions. It’s bought at least 30 firms in the past decade, according its website.
Strategy: The listed broker made pre-tax profit of £800,000 for the first six months of 2011, compared with a £1.2m loss in the same period last year. Operating profits increased by 49% to £1.5m, against £1m in 2010, although revenues were static, at £35m, compared with £34.9m in 2010.
The improved operating profit comes from investments in IT, including the Acturis software system, and initiatives in specialist areas such as haulage and recruitment.
Jelf has also said customer dissatisfaction with rival networks is boosting its own. Purple, whose membership has increased from 40 to 53, now controls £100m in gross written premium.
Big story: Jelf has not ruled out following the likes of Bluefin and Brokerbility by introducing an administration fee to offset the increasing burden of paying for regulation.
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