History
Conceived by the former Nottingham University student Michael Jeremy Naylor, Endsleigh was founded by the National Union of Students (NUS) in 1965 to provide tailored insurance services to university and college students. It was probably named after either Endsleigh Street, Endsleigh Place or Endsleigh Gardens, in Bloomsbury, on the Duke of Bedford's Bedford Estate. Under Mike Naylor's guiding and driving hand as its Managing Director, it then rapidly expanded into the graduate and professionals markets. Since its founding it has been the only insurer recommended by the NUS and is now the preferred insurance supplier for many professional associations, including the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, the Association of University Teachers and the Association of Optometrists.
In 1970 Endsleigh moved from its London headquarters to Cheltenham Spa, where it continued to recruit relatively young but fiercely ambitious staff, selected for their drive and talent, to create an organisation attractive to customers of similar age. This approach challenged the then more traditional aspects of conventional insurance marketing and administration.
In 1976 the NUS sold 100% of the company to Gouda Insurance International, as it was felt a stronger financial base was needed to fully exploit market opportunities. The NUS retained two seats on the board and in 1982 bought back a 14% shareholding. Its founder and still driving influence, Mike Naylor, died in a motor accident in July 1995. In April 2002, a management buyout, led by the Managing Director, Mike Alcock, bought out Gouda and formed a partnership with Zurich Financial Services. In January 2007 Zurich acquired 100% shareholding.
The company moved into the business market in 2000, and this combined with a 25% increase in customer base helped profits leap from £2.5m in 2000 to £8.6m in 2003. In February 2005 the 'Sunday Times PricewaterhouseCooper Profit Track 100' rated Endsleigh as the 76th fastest growing company in the UK, at 52% a year.
From 1993 to 1996, Endsleigh sponsored the English Football League. From 1988 to 1999 Endsleigh was the main shirt sponsor for Burnley F.C., with its logo appearing on the players' shirts, and it did the same for Cheltenham Town F.C. from 1997 to 1999. In the late 1990s to early 2000s, a club called Endsleigh, later known as EFC Cheltenham, played in the Hellenic Football League.
As of 1 September 2008, Endsleigh discontinued operating its local branch service (which was made up of 119 UK Branches) and the firm is now operated from three sales operations centres - Cheltenham Head Office, Burnley, and Belfast. This has resulted in a number of redundancies within the branch network, although some existing staff were relocated to the new operations centres.
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