Merseyside insurance firm Paymentshield reports annual revenues of £80m with pre-tax profits falling slightly to £21.8m amid major merger deal. Tony McDonough reports
Merseyside insurance firm Paymentshield is reporting a rise in annual revenues to £80m with the business forming part of a major industry merger earlier this year.
Based at Southport Business Park, Paymentshield employs more than 200 people. Its financial results for the 12 months to December 31, 2023, have just been published on Companies House.
They show annual revenues of £80m, up from £76.3m in 2022. Pre-tax profits were slightly down on the previous year coming in at £21.8m against a figure of £23.1m for 2022.
Established 32 years ago by two mortgage advisors, Paymentshield offers a range of insurance products such as home insurance, mortgage protection, income protection, landlord’s insurance and tenant’s contents insurance.
In 2020 the business became part of the Atlanta Group, a division of the Ardonagh Group, the UK’s largest independent insurance broker which has a workforce of around 8,000 people.
In September 2023 it was announced that Ardonagh had agreed a deal with another insurance firm, Chesterfield-based Markerstudy that saw Paymentshield become part of the Markerstudy group.
This merger, funded by Pollen Street Capital and Bain Capital Special Situations, valued Atlanta at £1.2bn and created a new enlarged UK insurance business. Ardonagh retains a minority stake in the venture.
Markerstudy offers a product range to around 6m customers, offering motor, pet, home and commercial insurance (to the SME market).
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In its annual report, Paymentshield said: “Following the merger with Markerstudy, the company will continue to build on the strong foundations already in place and will work to capitalise on the opportunities the merger will bring.”
It added that the increase in revenues during 2023 was driven by “a combination of increased volumes and market dynamics. The profitability of the company in the year has led directly to the increase in net assets (£275.4m in 2022 to £292.3m in 2023).