One of Southport’s biggest employers, insurance firm Paymentshield, sees pre-tax profits rise 26% to £23.3m despite a fall in revenues and customer numbers. Tony McDonough reports
Merseyside insurance firm Paymentshield has seen an impressive 26% rise in annual pre-tax profits as it reduces administrative expenses by 25%.
One of the biggest employers in Southport with more than 200 workers, Paymentshield was established 32 years ago by two mortgage advisors. It offers home insurance, mortgage protection, income protection, landlord’s insurance and tenant’s contents insurance.
In its annual accounts for the 12 months to December 31, 2025, published on Companies House, the firm has reported an almost 14% drop in revenues to £70.8m but a 26% rise in pre-tax profits to £23.3m. This was despite having fewer customers than the previous year.
Writing in the annual report Paymentshield finance director Tushar Patel said: “As a result of the continued competitive trading environment, the company’s new business volume in 2025 fell year-on-year by 3%, as had also been the case from 2023 to 2024.
“This sustained new business downward trend, as well as the natural attrition of closed books, has led to lower overall customer numbers and therefore reduced volume of renewal business, down by 13% between 2024 and 2025.”
However, Tushar added that the year-on-year revenue decline was partially mitigated by the volume variable cost of sales reducing by 20%.
He explained that, operationally, the business had made strong progress on cost efficiency and restructuring initiatives, mitigating inflationary pressures and reducing administrative expenses by 25% year-on-year.
“Looking ahead, the company’s focus is on accelerating sustainable growth by completing key integration activity, strengthening operational resilience and continuing to invest in people and technology,” he also said.
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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.