Transferring transporters

After becoming chairman of sales and marketing at broker Bain Clarkson, Etchells walked out with two colleagues when it was acquired by Aon in 1988. He says: "The only thing we took with us was our appointment to the Bus and Coach Council. It was a leap into the unknown and we only started making inroads in 1991." Etchells recognised the opportunities in buses as the UK's service was about to be privatised. A total of 72 companies were formed and since then have been consolidated. The bus companies, including the Scottish Bus Group and National Bus Group, dealt with a direct mutual insurer MMI. Belmont's early successes were the Maidstone and Ipswich bus companies which are still clients today.

Belmont now has strong connections with the Confederation of Passenger Transport, and Belmont insures two of the largest players the Go-Ahead Group and Stagecoach, which operates South West Trains - a contract that has been renewed for the last 15 years. However, a sobering fact Etchells notes is: "With the exception of the last one, all the big recent train crashes have been ours."

The two main underwriters Belmont places passenger transport with are St Paul Travelers and Ensign (bought by QBE). AIG, Chubb and Ace are also big players.

Etchells's first acquisition was a £0.5m gross written premium Kent-based broker. Growth was steady, and after 10 years, Belmont reached £10m of GWP.

The biggest acquisition was Ashford-based Bishops, which Etchells describes as "the best known broker in East Kent", in September 2004, which had £20m of GWP - including a large chunk of small to medium-sized business. Although most of Bishops' staff left except the "client facing ones", Etchells says the acquisition forged new relationships with the larger insurers. He comments: "Not many regional brokers have access to our markets."

However, not all of the broker acquisitions have been successful and Etchells says he "has learnt how not to buy a broker." He cited an example where a broker worked offsite and was left to his own devices to the detriment of the company.

Belmont is aided by its position in Sevenoaks which has good transport links by both rail and road. Mancunian Etchells is a converted local who lives close to broking entrepreneur Peter Cullum. In fact, Towergate tried to buy Belmont in the past, and also had a failed bid for Bishops. And, ironically Country Mutual Insurance Brokers, bought by Towergate last year, also tried to buy Bishops.

So, what about the future? Although Etchells is 62 and owns 59% with directors Chris Moran and David Hinton owning the rest, he has a young family and is determined to remain at the helm of the business. Etchells is in acquisition talks with two brokers and has hired marketing consultants M Consulting; there is a six figure marketing budget. The website will be updated and as will the firm's internet trading capabilities. From April 1 the business will be on Sirius 21 after a successful trial period with the Bishops book.

The year end 31 December 2006 saw profits of around £1.2m out of £6m of revenues, however there was a substantial write off from closing a Manchester satellite office which looked after travel claims - the company was bought for £1 and became an untenable loss maker.

Setting the tone for future acquisitions, Etchells is keen to keep his staff closer to central office and is prepared to expand into the floor above if necessary. The aim is for £100m of GWP by the end of 2009, although this will not be achieved through venture capital investment. He also believes his financial arm will grow but wants the 'general insurance culture' to prevail across the business.

Despite being courted as a takeover target himself, Etchells is set to remain in broking for a long time yet. He recalls when Michael Bright, former chief executive of Independent Insurance, pulled the plug on some significant Belmont business - an unusual occurrence for Independent. He says: "I've been around a long time and nothing really changes."

BELMONT INTERNATIONAL

Chairman: Barrie Etchells

Established: 1988

Number of offices: One

Location: Sevenoaks

Number of staff: 100

Lines of business: Passenger transport

Gross premium income: £65m.