Wesleyan sees growing sales during 2010

BIRMINGHAM-based Wesleyan Assurance Society has announced a 19% increase in overall new business sales to £27.3m in the nine months to the end of September.

The figures include a 51% increase in ISA and unit trust sales and a 19% increase in life and savings products.

The society, which serves doctors, dentists, teachers and lawyers, said that in addition to increasing sales in its own product range, it had also seen a 57% increase in sales of third party products.

Chief executive Craig Errington said: “2010 has been a year of continued growth for Wesleyan despite difficult market conditions.

“We believe that our model of offering tailored financial services and products to professional customer groups has put us in strong position.

“We have a real understanding of the issues affecting our customers and are able to guide them through these uncertain economic times.

“The increase in sales of savings products indicates that our customers are looking for a safe place to invest their money and value Wesleyan’s track record of financial strength and investment performance.

“The increase in ISA allowances has also contributed to strong sales performance in this area; in the teaching segment alone we’ve seen a 77% increase in ISA sales, the highest of any of our established client groups.”

In addition to commercial growth, Wesleyan said it had paved the way for sustained business growth with a number of key acquisitions throughout 2010.

In April, the society strengthened its position in the legal market with the acquisition of Key Business Professions, a specialist provider of short-term loans to law firms.

At the same time, the purchase of Liverpool Victoria’s £50m personal loan book doubled the assets of Wesleyan Bank and saw the mutual recruit additional staff to bolster its Birmingham banking operation.

Furthermore, in October Wesleyan announced the creation of 90 new jobs over the next two years as it develops a new sales relationship centre at its head office.

Wesleyan’s chairman Bryan Jackson said: “Unlike many others in the sector, Wesleyan is flourishing despite the difficult economic climate.

“We have maintained a prudent approach, keeping a careful eye on costs while taking decisions to grow the business in a considered way to the benefit of our members and staff.”