Markerstudy Group announce the appointment of Neil Utley and Matthew Donaldson as Non Executive Directors.
The Group has enjoyed significant activity and growth during the first half of 2021, following investment from Pollen Street Capital and Qatar Insurance Company, and the purchase of Brightside Insurance. Benny Higgins joined as Group Chairman, and the retail and affinity division restructured and adopted the new name Markerstudy Broking, to reflect its identity and the services it delivers.
Neil Utley’s career in financial services spans more than 30 years; with ten years in the banking sector, followed by 20 years in insurance. Notably, Neil has held Chief Executive roles with Privilege Insurance Company, and Cox Insurance Group (renamed Equity Insurance Group) and was a member of the Insurance Australia Group (IAG) Executive Committee. More recently, as Chairman of Hastings Insurance Group, Neil led the MBO from IAG, undertook an IPO and subsequent listing on the UK Stock Exchange. He is the founder of The Utley Foundation, a charity underpinned by a passion for music, which primarily supports children and armed forces veterans, and focuses on music for people with dementia and their carers.
Matthew Donaldson also has extensive experience in the financial services and insurance sector, most recently as Group CEO of BGL Group where he joined as National Sales and Operations Director in 2001, and held pivotal senior roles, including Director of E-Commerce, Managing Director, and Group COO. He led the development of BGL’s digital strategy resulting in the creation of comparethemarket.com. More recently, Matthew has held NED appointments for Cambridge Building Society, and Oplo, and is currently Chairman of Livingbridge PE backed Three Rock Group (Ireland).
Speaking of these high calibre appointments, Kevin Spencer, Group Chief Executive of Markerstudy, said: “We warmly welcome Neil and Matthew to the team. They’ve both enjoyed illustrious careers in the insurance industry and I am delighted they’ve chosen to join us at this exciting time to share their breadth of experience and knowledge.”
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About Markerstudy
Markerstudy Group of Companies, headquartered in Kent, was established in 2001. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021, the group has more than 3,500 employees and holds an Investors in People Gold award.
As the UK’s largest MGA, Markerstudy Insurance Services Limited supports over 1,000 broker partners and in excess of 3m policyholders with a wide variety of insurance services.
In 2020, the group became the UK’s 5th largest motor insurance provider following the acquisition of Co-op Insurance’s underwriting business and commenced a 13-year partnership to provide home and motor insurance products under the Co-op brand.
The Group’s portfolio includes the Markerstudy Broking division, which comprises a number of brands including Brightside Insurance and Insurance Factory – one of the UK’s largest affinity based insurance intermediaries for pet insurance.
Also under the group umbrella are Auto Windscreens, VisionTrack and Vision Vehicle Solutions and brands Geoffrey Insurance and Zenith Insurance.
