12 May 2014
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Jelf has reported a 14.6% increase in revenue for its insurance business to £26.8m (2013: £23.4m) for the six months ending 31 March 2014.
The insurance arm's EBITDA increased 41.3% to £4.4m from £3.1m in 2013.
Group chief executive Alex Alway said: "We are hopeful that the current trading environment for our insurance business and our clients will continue to improve in 2014 and we are beginning to see premiums increase where businesses are expanding as confidence grows."
"During the first six months we purchased a small insurance broking business in the south east that complements our existing operations. This acquisition was made from existing cash flows. In addition we have recruited a number of senior sales executive teams and plan to recruit more in light of the disruption caused by the recent round of broker consolidation in this sector," Alway said.
For the six month period, the group's revenues were 9.7% ahead of 2013 at £39.3m (2013: £35.9m).
Net debt stands at £13.1m (2013: £1.4m) with the the increase reflecting the acquisition of The Insurance Partnership in June 2013.
That business contributed £4.7m of revenue for the period and EBITDA of £550 000.
Alway added: "Throughout 2014 we will build upon our first six months performance in order to continue delivering improvements in productivity and margins. In line with statements made previously we will continue to review acquisition opportunities as they arise but we will retain a disciplined approach to price and value in order to achieve value for Jelf."
