Admiral Group
Public (LSE: ADM) | |
Industry | Insurance |
Founded | 1991 |
Headquarters | Cardiff |
Key people |
Alastair Lyons, Chairman David Stevens, CEO |
Revenue | £2.12 billion (2015)[1] |
Website | www.admiralgroup.co.uk |
Admiral Group plc is a motor insurance company with its head office in Cardiff, Wales. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History
In 1990, a managing agent at Lloyd’s called Hayter Brockbank chose Admiral Group’s current CEO, Henry Engelhardt, to head up a new operation and formulate its business plan.[2]
In November 1999, Engelhardt led a management buy-out of Admiral Group from the Brockbank Group backed by Barclays Private Equity.[3] On 23 September 2004, Admiral floated on the London Stock Exchange.[3] Admiral Group plc announced the pricing of its initial public offering at an Offer Price of 275 pence per existing ordinary share. Based on the Offer Price, the market capitalisation of Admiral at the commencement of dealings on the London Stock Exchange was £711 million.[4]
On 13 May 2015, it was announced that the founder of Admiral, Henry Engelhardt, would step down as CEO, and be replaced in 2016 by David Stevens, the COO.[5]
Operations
UK brands
Admiral Group operates under a number of brands in the UK:
- Admiral Insurance
- 'Bell' from Admiral (Exclusively Telematics Policies, previously Bell Insurance)
- Confused.com
- Diamond Insurance (for female drivers, launched in July 1997)
- Elephant
- Gladiator (for commercial vehicles)
Overseas brands
It also operates under a number of brands outside the UK:
- Balumba, Qualitas Auto and Rastreator (Spain)
- Assicurazioni ConTe (Italy)
- L'olivier assurance auto and LeLynx (France)
- Elephant Auto Insurance and compare.com (United States)
Controversy
In November 2012 Admiral were criticised by the police and the BBC for penalising vehicle drivers who had opted to take an educational course on speed awareness in place of receiving penalty points on their licence. Although the police did not treat these courses as convictions, Admiral Group companies had chosen to treat them as such and had raised insurance premiums for these drivers by between £80 and £300.[6]
References
- ↑ "Preliminary Results 2015" (PDF). Admiral Group. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ "The Interview: Admiral boss Henry Engelhardt". FMWF. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- 1 2 "Admiral named 'Exit of the Year' by Acquisitions Monthly". Equistone. 19 January 2005.
- ↑ "Admiral IPO begins successfully". Post-on-line. 23 September 2004. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ↑ Treanor, Jill (14 May 2015). "Admiral insurance founder to step down after 25 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- ↑ Emma, Forde (18 November 2012). "Car insurers start penalising speed awareness courses". BBC News. Retrieved 18 November 2012.