RSA opens two offices in bid to meet regional broker demand

Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) is extending its regional property investors business with the creation of two new offices in Glasgow and Belfast. Alistair McGregor and Paul Duff will head up the Glasgow and Belfast offices, respectively.

The move follows the establishment of similar bases in Birmingham and Manchester in May and June this year, the success of which has prompted the insurer to seek out similar returns elsewhere.

According to Nigel Salisbury, director of property investors at RSA, the offices will go through three stages of development. Stage one will see the establishment of local teams for traditional property owners business. Stage two will make it possible for brokers to access the wider proposition through the same teams, concentrating on construction and engineering but also covering other commercial classes.

The final stage will see the introduction of innovations such as valuations and energy consultancy aimed particularly at the larger specialist property investor and developer sector.

Mr Salisbury said: "These three stages will follow in quick succession for Glasgow and Belfast because we've already proven the case elsewhere, so we expect rollout to be completed by 17 September. Further stages will follow when we address other sub-segments with slightly different needs.

"These offices are the last in the current plan but we may look elsewhere if we think there will be a return. It reinforces our commitment to the regions and to segmentation, and comes in response to broker feedback we have received, as well as the results of research we have conducted. We found that there was a requirement for specialist handling overall," he added.

Although he would not be drawn on specific financial targets, Mr Salisbury said that he expected particularly strong returns from the Belfast office.

"I was in the city recently visiting a broker, and noticed that there had been a huge turnaround in Belfast. There will be particular gains there due to the huge property boom that it is currently experiencing," he said. "It is exciting - we have had success elsewhere and there will be other developments in the pipeline."