Market moves: Silly season for appointments

The summer ‘silly season’ is just around the corner, when pickings are thin for newspapers and trade magazines. However, in the run up, there has been no dearth of appointments with brokers seemingly hell-bent on outdoing each other in the recruitment stakes. Although Towergate stole the show with its swoop for Mike Lawton, a flurry of double and triple – not to mention a colossal quintuple – appointments further greased the market movements. What’s more, it was not just the brokers, but also a range of insurers that got in on the act. Expansion plans and a regional focus were often cited as the catalysts behind these significant movements. And, as economic uncertainty on a national scale continues unabated, the widespread movements within the industry must surely be a cause for some much-needed optimism showing opportunities abound in broking amid a quintessentially wet English summer.

The month’s biggest power play move came in the form of Mike Lawton’s unveiling as CEO of Towergate’s broking division. Describing it as “too good an opportunity to pass by”, Mr Lawton made the switch from RSA where he has been director of the provider’s UK mid-market division since January 2009.

Another broker heavyweight making hay was Giles as it bolstered its management team by taking on Simon Pearce as COO, joining from competitor Brightside where he had the same role. There were big