Insurance broker marks a century in business with charity campaign kick-off

TL Dallas, an insurance broking and risk management company, is celebrating 100 years in business.

To mark the milestone, the Bradford-headquartered business has pledged to raise £100,000 before the end of the year for a quartet of charities and a host of local causes.

The fourth generation family business was launched in Bradford in 1919 by Thomas Lessels Dallas. Since then it has grown substantially to boast a network of ten offices across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, providing services to 11,000 customers UK-wide.

TL Dallas has partnered with four charities that are close to staffs’ hearts: British Heart Foundation, Candlelighters, Mind In Bradford and Alzheimer Scotland. Additional support will also be provided for local Bradford causes including Sedbergh Youth & Community Centre.

The partners came together to mark the launch at Valley Parade, home of Bradford City. The stadium was chosen to kick-off the campaign given TL Dallas’s longstanding sponsorship of the football club.

The charity initiative, which is backed by TL Dallas’s 120 employees across the UK, will see the team take on a series of challenges including skydiving, abseiling and concerts in order to reach the target. Additional centenary celebration milestones will also be held throughout the year.

Polly Staveley, managing director at TL Dallas, said: “This year marks an important anniversary for TL Dallas. Being able to celebrate 100 years since the business first opened its doors in 1919 is such an achievement.

“We are especially proud that myself and my brother, Mackenzie, as fourth generation members of the Dallas family, are now leading the business to its next phase. The success that has been seen over the last 100 years has laid the foundations for the business to continue growing and developing.

“We’re hugely proud of our Yorkshire heritage. My great-grandfather, Tom, established the TL Dallas business in Bradford. Since then, we have grown to offer more services, as well as opening new offices including London and Scotland in the 1990s and Northern Ireland in 2016.

“It’s fantastic that we can celebrate 100 years by helping others, which is why we are so passionate about our charity campaign. The initiative has seen TL Dallas staff voting for charities that they have personally been touched by so we’re really proud to be supporting these fantastic organisations.”