Company History
The history of the Admiral Group is one of amazing growth and inspired innovation. Admiral launched in January 1993 with just one brand, zero customers and 57 members of staff. However, at June 2008, the Group had nine brands, over 1.5 million vehicles insured and 2500 members of staff. Group turnover, comprising total premiums written, gross other income and allocated investment income, rose 14% to £472.5 million (H1 2007: £417.8 million).
The early days
The story of Admiral begins earlier than 1993 though. Towards the end of 1990 Hayter Brockbank, a modest-size managing agent at Lloyd's, wanted to generate more sterling income through insurance. It decided the best way to achieve this goal, was through direct response personal lines business. Selling private motor insurance, direct to the customer was still a relatively new idea at that time.
The Admiral Group's current CEO, Henry Engelhardt, was chosen to head the new operation and to formulate the business plan. Henry was working at the time as Sales and Marketing manager at Churchill Insurance.
Henry began setting up the Company at the end of June 1991. He built a team of five people who formulated a business plan and worked with Lloyd's of London to create an acceptable structure. The strategy was to capture a market not well covered by existing direct motor insurers. Admiral would target the higher premium business, such as city-dwellers, younger drivers and motorists with performance cars; people who traditionally found it difficult to get cheaper insurance.
Implementation of the plan began on 1st April 1992, but this was no April fool's joke, this was the beginning of a real success story.
Admiral launched on time and under budget, on 2nd January 1993 from its headquarters in Cardiff. Admiral was practically the only large financial services company based in the city at the time. But where it led, others followed. Today Cardiff is a thriving centre of financial services.
At the time of the launch Admiral was the only brand, but over the years the Group has launched a number of successful brands which have become household names in their own right.
Important milestones
2nd January 1993 - First policy sold over the telephone at 9.10 a.m.
October 1995 - Admiral's website goes live, making it the first UK direct insurer with an Internet presence.
May 1996 - The Admiral customer base reaches 250,000 policyholders.
June 1996 - Admiral opens its second office in Swansea.
December 1996 - The Group's turnover tops the £100 million mark.
June 1997 - Two new brands are launched; Bell Direct which targets motorists with full no claims bonus and those paying by credit card and Diamond, created especially for women motorists who traditionally have less expensive claims. Diamond becomes the first brand based wholly in Swansea.
April 1998 - Gladiator Commercial is launched, becoming our fourth brand. Gladiator Commercial is a commercial vehicle insurance intermediary, selling van insurance on behalf of a panel of insurers. It too is based in Swansea.
May 1999 - The Admiral Group is named Welsh Company of the Year at the Welsh Business Awards. An achievement everyone is very proud of.
November 1999 - CEO, Henry Engelhardt leads a management buy-out of The Admiral Group from the Brockbank Group, which by that time is owned by XL Capital Ltd, in Bermuda. Barclays Private Equity backs the MBO.
December 1999 - The Group's turnover tops the £200 million mark.
August 2000 - The Admiral Group launches its fifth brand, elephant.co.uk. It is the UK's first insurer to offer a complete on-line solution to car insurance. It is destined to become the third most visited car insurance website in the UK.
March 2001 - The Admiral Group makes it onto The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list at position 32.
July 2001 - The Admiral Group customer base reaches 500,000 policyholders.
December 2001 - The Group's turnover tops the £300 million mark.
March 2002 - Confused.com is launched and becomes the Group's sixth brand. Unlike the other brands, Confused.com does not sell insurance. Instead it is the UK's first insurance aggregator. Visitors to Confused.com's website fill out their details once online and Confused.com finds the cheapest quotes available on the Internet from its large panel of insurers.
March 2002 - The Admiral Group makes it onto The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list at position 42.
June 2002 - Henry Engelhardt is named Welsh Business Achiever of the Year at the Welsh Business Awards.
December 2002 - Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer, shows its confidence in Admiral by purchasing an 18% share of the Company.
March 2003 - The Admiral Group makes it onto The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list at position 46.
May 2003 - The Admiral Group makes it onto The Financial Times 50 Best Workplaces in the UK at position number 7 and is named one of the 100 Best Workplaces in the EU.
October 2003 - The Admiral Group customer base reaches 750,000 policyholders.
December 2003 - The Group's turnover tops the £400 million mark.
March 2004 - The Admiral Group makes it onto The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the fourth consecutive year. It is one of only 17 companies to get on the list every year since its inception in 2001.
April 2004 - The Claims department receives its one-millionth claim.
May 2004 - The Admiral Group makes it onto The Financial Times 50 Best Workplaces in the UK and 100 Best Workplaces in the EU for the second consecutive year.
July 2004 - The Admiral Group is named Wales & West Business of the Year at the National Business Awards.
September 2004 - The Admiral Group floats on the London Stock Exchange. The Admiral Group plc becomes the highest valued public company in Wales.
November 2004 - The Admiral Group is named Business of the Year at the National Business Awards.
March 2005 - The Admiral Group makes it onto The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the fifth consecutive year. It is one of only 11 companies to get on the list every year since its inception in 2001.
April 2005 - The Admiral Group makes it onto The Financial Times 50 Best Workplaces in the UK and 100 Best Workplaces in the EU for the third consecutive year.
May 2005 - Wins Welsh Company of the Year for the second time, the only Welsh Company to do this. Bell Direct re-brands as Bell, switching target market from drivers with full no claims bonus to drivers with zero no claims bonus.
October 2005 - Confused.com wins National E-Commerce Award for Best Sales and Marketing.
November 2005 - Admiral Group plc wins National Business Employer of the Year 2005.
December 2005 - Admiral launches "MultiCar".
November 2006 - Balumba.es launches in Spain.
October 2007 - AdmiralDirekt.de launches in Germany.
December 2007 - Admiral became the second ever Welsh company to join the FTSE 100.
May 2008 - Conte.it launches in Italy.
Our financial growth
Revenue
2003 proved to be the Group's most successful year to date, with a turnover of £427million. But in fact its turnover has increased substantially every year.
| 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 |
| 17.5m | 47.2m | 72.6m | 100.1m | 120.2m |
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| 149.1m | 207.1m | 258.6m | 326.2m | 376.1m |
| 2003 | 2004 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| 427.0m | 548.0m | 548.0m | 638.4m | 708.2m |
| 2007 | ||||
| 824.9m |
Customers
The Group realises how important its customers are, it is just as important to retain existing customers as it is to gain new ones. By the end of 2003 it had just under 800,000 customers, but again its customer base has increased year on year since its launch.
| 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 |
| 50k | 133k | 212k | 319k | 342k |
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| 418k | 510k | 512k | 608k | 701k |
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | ||
| 797k | 1,008,000 | 1,141,000 |
| 2006 | 2007 | |||
| 1,285,000 | 1,491,000 |
Expense control
Cost control has been crucial to being able to offer lower prices to customers, while maintaining a good level of profitability.
The Admiral Group today
The Admiral Group is a highly profitable and fast-growing financial services intermediary. It now employs over 2000 people at its offices in Cardiff and Swansea. All of its growth has been organic.
Although its growth has been swift, some things remain the same as when Admiral first launched. It is still based in South Wales and is headed by Henry Engelhardt. Its customer base still includes people who traditionally find it difficult to get cheaper insurance. And it still holds true to its original core values. It believes that everyone with an interest in the success of the Company is a stakeholder, this includes staff, customers, the local community, investors and suppliers. The company philosophy is that people who like what they do, will do it better. This is illustrated in the company's Ministry of Fun, which organises fun events for everyone in the Company both in and out of work. And after many years Admiral still cultivates a can-do ethic amongst everyone who works in the organisation. Most important of all, Admiral values its customers above everything else and believes that good service and customer satisfaction is crucial for success.
The Admiral Group's commitment to quality is demonstrated through its Quality Measures Programme. Everyone in the organisation has a part to play in ensuring quality, so every department within the Group is measured against a set of quality measures, devised especially for it. The measures are meant to be a challenge, people have to work hard to achieve them, but they are still achievable. The programme is reported every month in the internal company magazine and awards are presented each year for the best departments. The total payment of the annual Staff Profit Share depends partly on scores in the Quality Measures Programme which adds extra impetus to all members of staff to ensure they are exceeded. In fact in 2005, the Company as a whole smashed the targets it was set to achieve in the programme.
As well as this programme, Quality managers and officers throughout the Group monitor the service the Company provides through the 13,000 comment forms it receives back each month. By listening to customer comments, Admiral can improve the quality of service it provides. In fact it is through these comment forms that the Group has implemented many of the changes to its procedures and service.
Our Awards
Over the years individuals, departments, brands and the company have won various awards, both regional and national. Everyone in the Group is very proud of its achievements and awards.
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Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list
- 2007 - 21st place
- 2006 - 20th place
- 2005 - 20th place
- 2004 - 60th place
- 2003 - 46th place
- 2002 - 42nd place
- 2001 - 32nd place
Financial Times 50 Best Workplaces in the UK
- 2007 - Top 10
- 2006 - 8th place
- 2005 - 17th place
- 2004 - 16th place
- 2003 - 7th place
100 Best Workplaces in the EU list 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006
Great Place to Work Special Award 2007: "Camaraderie - We have serious fun"
2005 National E-Commerce Award for Best Sales and Marketing
2005 National Business Employer of the Year 2005
2005 National Business Awards - Wales and South West Employer of the Year
2005 Welsh Company of the Year
2004 National Business Awards - Company of the Year
2004 Financial News Awards for Excellence in Investment Banking - Small/midcap Deal of the Year
2004 National Business Awards - Wales & West Business of the Year
2004 National Sales Awards - Best Inbound Call Centre (Bell Direct)
2003 National Call Centre Awards - Best Small Call Centre
(Bell Direct)
2002 Welsh Business Achiever of the Year (Henry Engelhardt)
2001 Welsh Contact Centre Awards - Best E-Commerce Initiative (elephant.co.uk)
2001 National Customer Service Awards - Best Customer Service Manager (Jackie Miles)
2001 Wales Quality Awards - Customer Satisfaction
1999 Wales Quality Awards - Service Sector
1999 Welsh Company of the Year
Our IPO
On 23rd September 2004, Admiral entered a new and exciting phase when it floated on the London Stock Exchange. Admiral Group plc announced the successful pricing of its initial public offering at an Offer Price of 275 pence per existing ordinary share.
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Based on the Offer Price, the market capitalisation of Admiral at the commencement of dealings on the London Stock Exchange was £711 million.
Demand for shares was high and oversubscribed. The gross aggregate demand received for the Global Offer amounted to approximately £1.5 billion, compared with gross proceeds of the Global Offer amounting to £231.3 million.
Admiral's ordinary shares were admitted to the Official List of the London Stock Exchange and unconditional dealings commenced on 28th September 2004.
The float represents the biggest capital raising for a Welsh company ever and Admiral Group became the highest valued public company in Wales.
Alistair Lyons, Chairman of Admiral said of the IPO: "I am very pleased to welcome our new investors. We look forward to continuing to create value for all our shareholders as we pursue our successful focussed business strategy."
Copies of the Listing Particulars can be obtained from the Company Secretary by writing to 22nd floor, Capital Tower, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff, CF10 3AZ.
