Broking Success: Right opportunity
Matthew Collins, founder and managing director of Ascend Broking, targets growing from £14m to £50m gross written premiums in five years as the firm positions itself as a viable alternative to larger brokers.
Ascend BrokingOffices: Chelmsford, Essex
Staff: 25
GWP: £14m
Specialisms: Transportation, construction, marine, property, commercial
What was your career before Ascend?I left school in 1988 and realised I wasn't going to be a professional football player, so I got a job as an underwriting trainee at the Royal Insurance in Chelmsford.
I joined FMW in 1992, and in 1998, I was appointed broking director. In 2001, I was part of the team that did a management buyout.
That business was acquired in 2008 by
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