High Five for R3
July 2004

Stuart Harvey helps Thames Valley cut sickness rate
February 2004 - Employee Benefits

R3 Group acquires Personal Lines
11 November 2003 - Mortgage Strategy

Rubicon Telesales
October 2003 - Insurancetimes.co.uk

Get cover before you move off the couch
28 June 2003 - Telegraph

R3 Group acquires broker
10 February 2003 - Insurancetimes.co.uk

Harrison Beaumont is acquired by the R3 Group
4 February 2003 - Professional Broking

R3 offers more than simple insurance
4 February 2003 - East Anglian Daily Times

The R3 Group acquires Harrison Beaumont
16 January 2003 - Post Magazine

Acquisition takes broker premium over £15m
10 January 2003 - Insurance Window

R3: Consultancy Acquires new Client

17th October 2007

Bank of Scotland, Corporate and Business Banking, have appointed R3 to review their existing schemes providing commercial insurance solutions to their customers with turnovers ranging from under £ 1m to £ 500m+. Working on the project will be Rob / Robin / James and others from the Ipswich team.

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R3: Group acquires military travel and holiday specialist

18th June 2007

The R3: Group has completed the acquisition of the Forces Travel business and plans are underway to integrate the company with Forces Financial, R3’s specialist UK Police and Armed Forces insurance and financial services division.

Forces Travel has provided travel and holidays to the Services both in the UK and overseas for almost 20 years, and its acquisition continues R3:’s growth strategy in the affinity sector. The synergies between Forces Travel and Forces Financial ensure an ideal fit, enabling the Group’s key objectives to accelerate growth by providing a wider choice of competitive financial and leisure services to this niche sector. In addition, existing affinity markets within the R3 Group will also be offered access the new travel capability.

Robin Williams, Director of R3 Group commented, “The deal strengthens our position in this market by taking us one step closer to realising our ambition of a fully integrated service, allowing us to be even more effective in delivering a wider range of high quality, leading edge solutions to our customers.

No other company currently offers these two services under one roof, making Forces Financial the first port of call for tailored insurance and financial products, and now travel and holiday arrangements for all the family as well. Incorporating the Forces Travel branches into our portfolio will significantly broaden Forces Financial’s footprint on military establishments, improving access and service for our customers.”

The sales force, many of whom are ex-service personnel, will continue to operate in over 25 branches across the UK, Germany and Cyprus and can be contacted on the existing telephone numbers. Whilst the online quote and buy service will be enhanced in order to deliver a full suite of products as well as a wide range of holidays and travel options from anywhere in the world.

R3: Group now controls a portfolio of companies offering specialised insurance products for key affinity markets, including the emergency services, the sports and leisure sector, the fitness industry, mortgage brokers and IFAs and the charity sector.

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R3: Group Acquires Independent Mortgage Specialist, Harmans

28th March 2007

R3: Group subsidiary Stuart Harvey Insurance Brokers is pleased to announce the acquisition of Harmans Ltd. Harmans is a leading provider of independent mortgage and financial planning advice to police officers and police staff. Founded in 1994, Harmans is now the provider of choice to twelve regional police forces.

Robin Williams , Director of R3: Group comments, “The acquisition of Harmans continues the R3: growth strategy in the affinity sector and reaffirms Stuart Harvey's commitment to the police market. We plan to develop the Harmans business further to offer customers a wider choice of products and more competitive prices.”

Carolyn Harman, Managing Director, Harmans, “This is an exciting time for Harmans as R3's experience and expertise will enable the business to grow and develop it's proposition further to drive the business forward. ”

R3: Group now controls a portfolio of companies offering specialised insurance products for key affinity markets, including the emergency services, the sports and leisure sector, the fitness industry, mortgage brokers and IFAs and the charity sector.

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R3: Group Acquires Military Specialist, NAAFI Financial

28th March 2007

R3: Group is delighted to announce the acquisition of NAAFI Financial from Close Brothers Military Services Limited. NAAFI Financial is a leading provider of insurance and savings products for HM Forces personnel.

Robin Williams , Director of R3: Group comments, “The acquisition of NAAFI Financial continues the R3:'s growth strategy in the affinity sector. The military is a specialist niche and we will use our expertise to launch additional tailored products to this market. We intend to develop the NAAFI Financial insurance offering further to provide the market with wider choice, competitive prices and appropriate cover.”

Al Voice, Managing Director, NAAFI Financial, “This is an exciting time for NAAFI Financial as R3:'s insurance experience and expertise will enable the business to develop its insurance proposition and drive the business forward. NAAFI Financial has long been supporting the HM Forces and I am confident this new alliance will bring our customers more choice and a wider range of products.”

R3: Group now controls a portfolio of companies offering specialised insurance products for key affinity markets, including the emergency services, the sports and leisure sector, the fitness industry, mortgage brokers and IFAs and the charity sector.

The business will continue to be run from its Salisbury base and the sales force will continue to operate across the UK , Germany and Cyprus.

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R3: Group Establishes New Post of Head of Business Development

17th January 2007

The R3: Group has appointed Jason Lawrence as Head of Business Development.

Lawrence will be responsible for identifying, researching and analysing new acquisitions, the establishment of strategic partnerships and for bringing new products to the marketplace.

Prior to joining R3 Lawrence was Divisional Director with Willis, and has over 15 years senior management experience with the Admiral Group and Insure and Go.

This new role is key to the R3: Group's growth plans to drive the business forward and develop its customer propositions further. Lawrence will initially concentrate his efforts on the Calibre, Banner and Harrison Beaumont businesses within the Group.

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High Five for R3

July 2004

Harrison Beaumont Insurance Services are pleased to announce the acquisition of the UK business of Irish broker ARB.

The arrangement will see the existing ARB commercial portfolio, currently operated from Southampton , merged into the Harrison Beaumont business.

A spokesman for Harrison Beaumont said “ We are delighted with this acquisition and welcome the ARB team on board. The business represents an excellent strategic fit and will bring further scale to our existing operations. The move will open up an extended product range to ARB intermediaries, whilst providing new markets for our current broker partners.”

The deal effective 1 July, is one of a number of planned acquisitions currently underway within the Group and further announcements are expected over the coming months.

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Stuart Harvey helps Thames Valley cut sickness rate

February 2004
Employee Benefits

Three years ago Thames Valley police struggled with what it now admits was a "horrendous" sickness absence rate

Each police officer was taking an average of 15 days off each year, placing it in the bottom quartile for all UK police forces. A scheme was devised in conjunction with specialist insurance firm Stuart Harvey, which brought the figure down to 9.1 days, putting it in the top quartile and bringing estimated savings of £669,000.

Under the scheme, police officers have been given quick and easy access to physiotherapists and psychiatrists to tackle the problems of absence caused by stress and back problems. Carole Haveron, a chief inspector and head of corporate and support services says that a police officer can now phone up occupational health and be seen by a consultant psychiatrist within a couple of days, whereas on the NHS most people would wait 12-18 months.

The force too has a deal with five providers of physiotherapy which are under contract to ensure that they call individuals who have requested this service within 48 hours and get them their first session within seven working days. Haveron adds: "We have written to every GP practise in the Thames Valley and told them how quickly police officers can get support, so now GP's say 'you have got a really good scheme at work, go and see your occupational health people'."

Another measure taken by the force's occupational health department is phoning up officers who have taken days off at home to tell them of the range of options open to them. The Home Office now uses the Thames Valley solution, named Optima, as a beacon scheme in it's efforts to cut police sickness rates nationally.

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R3 Group acquires Personal Lines

11 November 2003
Mortgage Strategy

The R3: Group has bought Calibre Personal Lines, bringing total income under its management to £20m.

The Ipswich based R3: Group says that following sustained expansion over the last year, it was attracted to Calibre Personal Lines, owned by Keelan Westall, for its ‘homeowner solution’ for both intermediaries and their customers.

The company will now operate under the Calibre Home Solutions brand and provide a range of financial services and consumer products such as discounted utilities and telephony for homeowners.

Rob Proudman, director of R3: Group, says: “R3: Group has been looking for some time to broaden its distribution channel and Keelan Westall’s IFA distributed business will help the company to achieve this.

This acquisition provides R3: Group’s rapidly growing business with a significantly larger platform on which to develop its product offering.”

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Rubicon Telesales

October 2003
Insurancetimes.co.uk

Stuart Harvey Insurance Brokers has outsourced the telesales support for its Police Federation motor scheme to Rubicon, an insurance services and solutions company. The outsourcing is for the inbound telesales calls relating to the private motor scheme for police federation members and civilian support staff.

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Get cover before you move off the couch

28 June 2003
Telegraph

If you have particular needs that you want covered, for example a higher payout on physiotherapy, you can go to Harrison-Beaumont which specialises in bespoke policies.

Rob Proudman of Harrison-Beaumont said: "You can have physiotherapy added on to the policy but your doctor must be in agreement that it is beneficial for a claim. There are solutions available, and it goes all the way to full private medical insurance."

Ms Jennings recommends that you look at the small print on any existing healthcare policies you have to check for exclusions. That way, you can take out another policy to plug the gap, if necessary, and make sure that you are not paying for the same cover twice.

Mr Proudman added: "Sports insurance allows you the absolute certainty that everything to do with your hobby is covered. For example - most household policies will not cover sports equipment while it is in use. That is probably when it is going to get damaged."

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R3 Group acquires broker

10 February 2003
Insurancetimes.co.uk

The R3 Group has acquired Witney based broker Harrison Beaumont.

The acquisition brings the total R3 Group staff to 60, controlling and annualised gross premium in excess of £15m.

An R3 statement said; "The acquisition supports the R3 Group strategy of developing a network of companies that are able to offer a mixture of consultancy and service solutions to the affinity and insurer market place across insurance and consumer goods."

R3 operates as a wholesale broker, providing an umbrella for 1000 intermediaries and as an overflow capability for mainstream schemes and affinities seeking to provide cover for nonstandard risks.

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Harrison Beaumont is acquired by the R3 Group.

4 February 2003
Professional Broking

The R3 Group has acquired Harrison Beaumont Insurance Brokers, based in Witney, Oxfordshire.

Harrison Beaumont is a wholesale broker, providing an umbrella for 1000 introducing intermediaries. If offers capability for mainstream schemes and affinities as well nonstandard risks.

Its binding and delegated authority schemes include travel insurance, sporting equipment, students' and young professionals' possessions and commercial insurance.

The acquisition brings that total R3 Group staff to 60 across three locations – Ipswich, Witney and Hook – controlling more than £15m per annum.

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R3 offers more than simple insurance

4 February 2003
East Anglian Daily Times
By Duncan Brodie

Question: "What's the table tennis for?"

Answer: "For playing table tennis."

Ok, I should have phrased the question better (like starting with a "why" rather than a "what") but you can't blame me for asking.

It's not every day you come across an open plan working environment that's sufficiently open plan to have a table tennis table among the desks.

That, however, is by no means the only unusual feature about Ipswich-based R3 Holdings.

For a start, what's with the name? R3 is, in fact, named after its three founders - Robin Williams (no, not the one who set fire to his, er, chest in Mrs Doubtfire), Rob Proudman and Roger Hine.

Consumers will probably not have heard of R3 because it is not intended to be a consumer brand, although many of its clients are household names. This leads on to the more pertinent question: what does the company do?

When it was launched in October 1999, it might have been referred to as a financial services consultancy. However, it was never really a consultancy in the usual sense and its activities are no longer confined to financial services either.

The three Rs all formerly worked for Guardian Royal Exchange in Ipswich. The company was subsequently taken over by AXA and this, said Mr Williams delicately, led to "a parting of the ways".

Each of then received job offers to do similar things with other insurance companies but this would, "at best" said Mr Williams, have involved commuting to London. Instead, they decided to make use of their combined skills for themselves.

The concept was not to compete against the big insurance brands but to support them by "doing bits around the outside" that standard underwriters were reluctant to deal with.

They began with a dozen people – themselves plus nine employees – at Unicorn House in Foundation Street. Early clients (with the technology boom still at its peak) included Egg and Virgin.

Insurance-related products were, however, only the start. The sourcing skills involved were transferable to other sectors and R3 might now more accurately be described as a "supplier manager", finding the appropriate supplier for a product and implement its distribution to a customer base.

The company works with more than 200 suppliers and, said Mr Williams, it can "probably get a discount off anything you can think of" – from books and CDs to electrical goods and holidays, as well as insurance add-ons.

Affinity schemes of all kinds can, therefore, use R3 as a single source. It is, said Mr Williams, and "end to end" service, it was this that set the company apart from conventional consultancies.

Rather than simply providing clients with a "glossy report" setting out what they should do and then retreating, the strategy was to work with them in implementing the programme.

The aim was to ensure that, by the end of the process, the client was in a better position than at the start, said Mr Williams, which could sometimes involve an on-going relationship over several years.

In July 2002, R3 moved into larger premises at Globe House in Turrett Lane, Ipswich but visiting the offices (involving, in our case, an epic journey across the road from the EADT's back gate) does not convey the full scale of the operation which now involves a total of 60 people.

This is partly because, at any one time, a number of employees are likely to be working from clients' own premises. The main reason, however, is that R3 has expanded through acquisition and now has additional teams based in Oxfordshire and Hampshire.

While adding to the group's range of products and expertise, these businesses have continued to operate not only from their original locations but also under their original names.

Harrison Beaumont, based at Witney, organises cover for hazardous activities such as winter sports, parachuting and "explorer" type travel, including students' gap year trips. Stuart Harvey Insurance, based at Hook, also focuses on a number of niche markets, including cover for police officers.

Another example of the group's niche strategy is sourcing insurance cover for holiday homes in Spain. Clients can offer a policy in English but underwritten in Spain, rather than their customers having to arrange their own cover, with the potential pitfalls of the language barrier.

The European dimension is by no means unique to this product. The group has, for example, also helped Egg to launch its credit card into France and worked with Honda to launch an insurance programme in Spain and Portugal.

The success of the two acquisitions so far is being taken by R3 as a model for further growth planned over the next three years. The aim is to make two or three acquisitions a year, taking advantage of the trend towards consolidation in the insurance broker sector but also looking beyond insurance.

Mr Williams said R3 was looking for entrepreneurial businesses with strong brands and strong relationships with clients which would add to the group's overall competitiveness.

"We are not looking to change the name on the door, which means a lot to some people looking to sell a business," he said. "They are still involved in driving it and the staff will be retained.

The idea is to keep the brand, keep the people and keep the business as it is while we leverage value."

R3 envisages having 200 to 300 staff in three years time. While it is not known where they will be based, the founders intend the Ipswich office to remain the central focus.

Although the founders still control the business, many staff are also now shareholders so that they too have the opportunity to share in its success and growth.

However, there are no external shareholders and no plans for this to change, as the business is able to fund its immediate expansion plans through existing arrangements.

"Touch wood," said Mr Proudman, "we have made a profit every month since we started". Turnover has also risen steadily and will this year total around £3 million.

Mr Proudman acknowledged that, like most other businesses just now, R3 faced a challenging economic environment but, he said, potential rivals were not able offer R3's range of abilities.

Certainly the length of the company's relationship with many clients suggests as much and, significantly, most new business has come on the basis of recommendation rather than marketing. For example, an estate agency firm introduced the group to the DIY business Homebase.

As the group's activities have widened in range, so too have the career backgrounds of its recruits. While many have previously worked in sectors such as banking, insurance and broking, this is by no means invariably the case – some, for example, have recently arrived from troubled TXU.

Mr Williams said R3 aimed to offer fulfilling and rewarding jobs which, as for the three founders at the outset, offered an attractive alternative to commuting to London every day.

The group operates flexible working hours by making extensive use of information and communication technology, and aims to offer a pleasant and enjoyable working environment where people can occasionally let off steam.

And that, of course – to answer the question I should have asked at the start – is what the table tennis table is really for.

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The R3 Group acquires Harrison Beaumont

16 January 2003
Post Magazine

The R3 Group has acquired Harrison Beaumont Insurance Brokers based in Witney, Oxfordshire. The wholesale broker acquisition brings that total R3 Group staff to 60, across 3 locations – Ipswich, Witney and Hook, controlling an annualised gross premium in excess of £15m.

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Acquisition takes broker premium over £15m

10 January 2003
Insurance Window

The R3 Group has acquired Harrison Beaumont Insurance Brokers based in Witney, Oxfordshire.

Harrison Beaumont operates as a wholesale broker, providing an umbrella for 1,000 introducing intermediaries and as an overflow capability for mainstream schemes and affinities seeking to provide cover for non-standard risks.

Its binding and delegated authority schemes include travel insurance – including hazardous and adventure sports, sports equipment, students and young professionals possessions and commercial insurance.

The acquisition brings the total R3 Group staff to 60, across 3 locations – Ipswich, Witney and Hook, controlling an annualised gross premium in excess of £15m.

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