Admiral Group
Encyclopedia
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
.
, to head up a new operation and formulate its business plan.
Engelhardt began setting up the Company at the end of June 1991. The strategy was for Admiral to 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.
Admiral launched on time and under budget, on 2 January 1993 from its headquarters in Cardiff
. Admiral was practically the only large financial services company based in the city at the time. Over the years the Admiral Insurance
brand has been joined by a number of other successful brands.
In November 1999, Engelhardt led a management buy-out of Admiral Group from the Brockbank Group backed by Barclays Private Equity
. On 23 September 2004, Admiral floated on the London Stock Exchange
. 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.
Admiral has been listed in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list every year since its inception. It has also been named in the Great Place to Work Institute’s list of Best Workplaces in the UK every year. It has been named Welsh Company of the year 3 times - in 1999, 2005 and 2009.
Admiral Group operates under a number of brands in the UK:
Admiral's overseas brands in Spain, Italy and the US were reported to be loss making in 2010 and holding back overall group profits.
From its headquarters in Cardiff, Admiral Group now operates from centres including:
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
, it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
.
History
In 1990, a managing agent at Lloyd’s called Hayter Brockbank chose Admiral Group’s current CEO, Henry EngelhardtHenry Engelhardt
Henry Allan Engelhardt is the founder and Chief Executive of Admiral Group, one of the United Kingdom's leading insurers.-Career:Chicago-born Henry Engelhardt was educated at the University of Michigan...
, to head up a new operation and formulate its business plan.
Engelhardt began setting up the Company at the end of June 1991. The strategy was for Admiral to 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.
Admiral launched on time and under budget, on 2 January 1993 from its headquarters in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. Admiral was practically the only large financial services company based in the city at the time. Over the years the Admiral Insurance
Admiral Insurance
Admiral, part of the Admiral Group, is a car insurance specialist which launched in January 1993. Its head offices are in Capital Tower, Cardiff, Wales. It also has offices in Swansea and Newport and Halifax, Nova Scotia...
brand has been joined by a number of other successful brands.
In November 1999, Engelhardt led a management buy-out of Admiral Group from the Brockbank Group backed by Barclays Private Equity
Barclays Private Equity
Barclays Private Equity is the Private Equity division of Barclays Capital, the Investment Banking arm of Barclays plc. BPE have seven offices across four countries. Started in 1982 they have invested in over 350 businesses including Admiral Group and Dial-a-Phone. Typically €500m is invested per...
. On 23 September 2004, Admiral floated on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
. Admiral Group plc announced the pricing of its initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
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
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
was £711 million.
Admiral has been listed in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list every year since its inception. It has also been named in the Great Place to Work Institute’s list of Best Workplaces in the UK every year. It has been named Welsh Company of the year 3 times - in 1999, 2005 and 2009.
UK brands
- Admiral InsuranceAdmiral InsuranceAdmiral, part of the Admiral Group, is a car insurance specialist which launched in January 1993. Its head offices are in Capital Tower, Cardiff, Wales. It also has offices in Swansea and Newport and Halifax, Nova Scotia...
- Bell InsuranceBell InsuranceBell, part of the Admiral Group, is a car insurance specialist which launched in June 1997. Its head offices are in Capital Tower, Cardiff, Wales. It also has offices in Swansea and Newport and Halifax, Nova Scotia...
- Diamond InsuranceDiamond InsuranceDiamond, part of the Admiral Group, is a car insurance specialist which launched in June 1997. Its head offices are in Capital Tower, Cardiff, Wales. It also has offices in Swansea and Newport and Halifax, Nova Scotia...
(for female drivers) - Gladiator (for commercial vehicles)
- elephant.co.ukElephant.co.ukElephant.co.uk, part of the Admiral Group, is a car insurance specialist which launched in August 2000. Its head offices are in Capital Tower, Cardiff, Wales.The company also has offices in Swansea and Newport, and Halifax, Nova Scotia...
- Confused.comConfused.comConfused.com, part of the Admiral Group, is a British price comparison website specialising in insurance and financial services.-History:Confused.com launched in 2002, becoming the UK’s first car insurance comparison site. It is based in Cardiff, Wales with its offices located near the headquarters...
- this was reported to be suffering from the strong competition of its rival, Comparethemarket.comComparethemarket.comcomparethemarket.com is a UK price comparison website that is part of the BGL Group. The site aims to help consumers compare the market to find the best price and deals for them on a range of insurance products...
, though still controlled one third of the motor insurance market in 2010.
Overseas brands
It also operates under a number of brands outside the UK:- Balumba, Rastreator and Globalty (SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) - Conte and Chiarezza (ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) - Lelynx and L'Olivier (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) - Elephant Auto Insurance (US)
Admiral's overseas brands in Spain, Italy and the US were reported to be loss making in 2010 and holding back overall group profits.
Locations
- Wales – SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, NewportNewportNewport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent... - Canada – Halifax
- France – ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Italy – RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- Italy – MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
- India – BangaloreBangaloreBengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
(call centre operation and IT support) - Spain – SevilleSevilleSeville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan... - USA – RichmondRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...