Brightside Group

Insurance broker and financial services specialist Brightside is contemplating business acquisitions and equity funding after encouraging interim results.

The Bristol-based company, already UK market leader in commercial van insurance and with a stated ambition to become Number One broker in life assurance with 100,000 policies a year by 2012, has increased first-half pre-tax profits 28% to £3.2m on turnover up 39% to £22m after costs rose 70% to £5m and administrative expenses increased 37% to £13.3m. With agencies from insurance groups Fortis, Liverpool and London and Zurich, AIM-quoted Brightside uses call centres to market and distribute policies to individual van owners, whose other insurance needs provide scope for further expansion, says chief executive officer Paul Chase-Gardener.

Norwich Union parent Aviva owns more than 8% of Brightside, which floated on AIM two years ago, having bought a book of business from motor-linked insurer AA in 2004 with three-year leads which in themselves paid for much of the acquisition cost, says Chase-Gardener. He and fellow founders Arron Banks and John Gannon together own nearly 50% of the company and he argues a timely share issue could provide much-needed stock market liquidity, as well as funding the potential purchase of a brand or book of business or company, though house broker Evolution suggests a likely target could be their own broking interests, such as eBike.

The broker sees pre-tax profits rising 8% this year to £6.4m, with a 26% increase to £8.1m on the cards for 2010 and £10m a possibility for the following year. Chase-Gardener says the company hopes to pay a maiden dividend in 2011 on its 2010 earnings and the shares could reward a punt.

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