The Edinburgh-headquartered insurance broker Bruce Stevenson has today reported revenue and GWP increases of 7%, with trading income up £600,000 to £8.7 million and GWP standing strong at £44 million.
Commenting on the results, Bruce Stevenson CEO Edward Bruce (pictured) said: “We are pleased to report strong organic growth, in what was a challenging year with difficult trading conditions for the business and the industry overall.”
Bruce Stevenson, which was founded in 1981 by current CEO Edward Bruce’s father David Bruce, also has offices in Glasgow, the Scottish Borders and Turriff and provides broking and risk management services. It was the subject of an acquisition by Aston Lark in March 2021 and has since operated as an independent brand and separate legal entity. Last month, Aston Lark’s Glasgow office merged with Bruce Stevenson’s Glasgow team - with 12 staff moving over to Bruce Stevenson. The Aston Lark Glasgow office recorded approximately £5 million of GWP and £1 million of income in 2021.
The firm is currently in discussions to recruit senior-level recruits and anticipates more in the coming year to add to its existing headcount of 110 staff. It is also actively speaking to several independent brokers with an eye to potential acquisitions. Through its last bolt-on deal in 2018, the business strengthened its offering in Aberdeen and North East Scotland with the acquisition of Turriff-based Youngson Insurance Consultants.
“Our new ownership gives us more firepower to drive growth by acquisition over the next 12 months and beyond,” Bruce said. “Critically, our client-focused and staff-development culture remains unchanged. The continued growth of the business has enabled us to make some exciting promotions from within the business with more anticipated in the coming months.”
Peter Blanc, Aston Lark Group CEO, also commented on the progress the Scottish broker has made despite the challenging market conditions and said the group is delighted by the further growth opportunities it has both organically in its specialisms and also as they look to acquire like-minded brokers in the Scottish market.
Blanc added: “Edward Bruce and his team will build a broker that is the standout leader in Scotland and we’ll do everything we can to support them every step of the way.”
