Insurance Prospect Pool Secures Investment For Growth
McDonald & Cummine: sold 60% stake to Motorway Direct
The two owners of The Trading Floor, the risk-profiled insurance prospect data pool, have sold a 60% stake in their venture to motor warranty company Motorway Direct for an undisclosed sum.
Chris McDonald and Harry Cummine, who began developing the pool more than two years ago, have retained a 20% stake each. They could earn up to £4m for the 60% they have sold over the next two years if they hit performance targets.
Motorway Direct has an annual turnover of £35m and sold 350,000 warranties last year, including RAC-branded warranties under licence from the RAC.
It estimates its investment will allow it to grow its customer base by 30% through marketing to the Trading Floor’s prospect pool.
An existing customer before the deal, it showed its interest in February when McDonald and Cummine were in “11th hour negotiations” with one of two other potential investors, including a major data company.
McDonald said the entire undisclosed upfront sum from Motorway Direct has been invested back in the business, allowing it to direct resources to growing the number of records. The pool was launched in October last year and currently comprises 3m records, but is expected to grow to 6m within a few weeks and 15m by the end of the year.
The pool allows insurance companies, brokers and intermediaries to trade their enquirer and customer data within the insurance and financial marketplaces and to the wider data market.
Insurance partners include Saga, Privilege, and Budget, and data buyers include many of the household names in insurance together with Ford, Kia, MBNA, Capital One and T-Mobile.
McDonald’s CV includes roles as sales and marketing director of sales, marketing and debt recovery outsourcing company Revenue Management Services and development director of credit arranger CreditEnabler.
Cummine is a former director of Halifax’s Visa operations and managing director of consumer credit broker Assured Loans.
In 2003, they launched a company called Solutio Europe through which they sold wholesale insurance products such as motor breakdown assistance to intermediaries, as well as development The Trading Floor pool.
Solutio’s insurance products business has now been sold, and a new company called The Trading Floor has been created in the last few weeks.
McDonald has become the new company’s sales and marketing director and Cummine its operations director. Motorway Direct’s managing director Simon Tennyson and CEO Don Pinkney have joined its board.
TMN Media will continue to sell email data from the pool.
(Brand Republic – 13th April 2006)
The two owners of The Trading Floor, the risk-profiled insurance prospect data pool, have sold a 60% stake in their venture to motor warranty company Motorway Direct for an undisclosed sum.
Chris McDonald and Harry Cummine, who began developing the pool more than two years ago, have retained a 20% stake each. They could earn up to £4m for the 60% they have sold over the next two years if they hit performance targets.
Motorway Direct has an annual turnover of £35m and sold 350,000 warranties last year, including RAC-branded warranties under licence from the RAC.
It estimates its investment will allow it to grow its customer base by 30% through marketing to the Trading Floor’s prospect pool.
An existing customer before the deal, it showed its interest in February when McDonald and Cummine were in “11th hour negotiations” with one of two other potential investors, including a major data company.
McDonald said the entire undisclosed upfront sum from Motorway Direct has been invested back in the business, allowing it to direct resources to growing the number of records. The pool was launched in October last year and currently comprises 3m records, but is expected to grow to 6m within a few weeks and 15m by the end of the year.
The pool allows insurance companies, brokers and intermediaries to trade their enquirer and customer data within the insurance and financial marketplaces and to the wider data market.
Insurance partners include Saga, Privilege, and Budget, and data buyers include many of the household names in insurance together with Ford, Kia, MBNA, Capital One and T-Mobile.
McDonald’s CV includes roles as sales and marketing director of sales, marketing and debt recovery outsourcing company Revenue Management Services and development director of credit arranger CreditEnabler.
Cummine is a former director of Halifax’s Visa operations and managing director of consumer credit broker Assured Loans.
In 2003, they launched a company called Solutio Europe through which they sold wholesale insurance products such as motor breakdown assistance to intermediaries, as well as development The Trading Floor pool.
Solutio’s insurance products business has now been sold, and a new company called The Trading Floor has been created in the last few weeks.
McDonald has become the new company’s sales and marketing director and Cummine its operations director. Motorway Direct’s managing director Simon Tennyson and CEO Don Pinkney have joined its board.
TMN Media will continue to sell email data from the pool.
(Brand Republic – 13th April 2006)
