Stonebridge Group reveals continued growth in 2015
04 February 2016
Stonebridge Group, the mortgage and insurance network, has announced strong growth across the entire business for 2015, with continued out-performance of its key performance indicators.
The network revealed its results at its annual conference, held this week in East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham, and also announced its ambitions for the year ahead.
Across its core mortgage, life/protection and general insurance activities, business volumes were all up considerably.
Mortgage completions were £2.76 billion for the year, up 66% on the £1.66 billion placed in 2014. During Quarter 4 last year, £1.05 billion worth of applications were placed through Stonebridge – the second quarter in a row that applications reached or exceeded £1 billion. Stonebridge anticipate this trend will continue through the year ahead.
Life business volumes also rose strongly with £7.59 million of life commissions completed during the 12-month period; this was 79% up on 2014’s £4.23 million. £9.04 million of life applications were placed through Stonebridge, again up considerably (59%) on 2014’s £5.68 million.
Finally, £532k of general insurance business was completed in 2015, up 49% on the £356k placed through Stonebridge in 2014.
Stonebridge also revealed it has increased its overall adviser numbers within the network from 203 in 2014 to 404 by the end of 2015. It said most of this growth came in the second half of the year which it believes bodes well for continued expansion through 2016.
Stonebridge also set out plans for 2016 which included ongoing developments and upgrades to its Revolution technology system. The business is currently recruiting new software developers and support staff, plus introducing more regional training days and webinar refresher courses. Stonebridge is also in the process of developing a protection/General Insurance call centre plus a retirement plan for advisers and firms considering their exit from the industry.
The annual conference also included Stonebridge’s Achiever Awards for its member firms with the top business partners and Stonebridge advisers being recognised for their business-generating achievements throughout the year.
Richard Adams, Managing Director of Stonebridge Group, commented:
“Each year the Stonebridge Annual Conference gives us a chance to reflect on the previous year, our activity levels and also our continued growth. This year was no different and it was particularly pleasing to be able to announce such strong results from across the entire business. As 2015 progressed we saw a considerable increase in the number of advisers within the Group and we anticipate this will continue into 2016, albeit at a slower level. This growth in advisory numbers has clearly fed into our impressive business volumes for mortgages, life, protection and GI business, and we are now in a very strong position to improve further on this. Our results are down to the hard work of our members, advisers and the head office team and we are very proud of their efforts throughout the last 12 months.
“We remain focused on developing our offering, strengthening our infrastructure and to focusing further on the business development opportunities that exist for our members. We have a number of ongoing projects aimed at further broadening what Stonebridge offers and also adding significant resource to our head office team and those working ‘out in the field’. We recently launched a new specialist lending panel to comply with the up-coming MCD changes plus various enhancements to Revolution, as well as our continued focus on quality recruitment, the highest business standards, and a commitment to keep investing in the business. 2016 is promising to be an exciting year ahead for Stonebridge and all our efforts are on making it a special one for all our member firms.“
To find out more about the Stonebridge Group or if brokers are interested in joining call 01268 644160 or for further information visit www.stonebridgegroup.co.uk
