Endsleigh Insurance is a

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

-based UK insurance intermediary specialising in the student, education, graduate and sport markets. It is the preferred insurer for several unions and professional associations. Endsleigh was established in 1965 by National Union of Students (NUS). In March 2018, Endsleigh was acquired by A-Plan Holdings, and is the only official and approved insurer of National Union of Students. The current CEO of Endsleigh is Alison Meckiffe.

History

Conceived by the former

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

student Michael Jeremy Naylor, Endsleigh was founded by National Union of Students (NUS) in 1965 to provide tailored insurance services to university and college students. It was named after Endsleigh Street in Bloomsbury, on the

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(NASUWT) and the

University and College Union The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union in further and higher education representing over 120,000 academics and support staff. UCU is a vertical union representing casualised researchers and teaching staff, "permanent" ...

(UCU). In 1970 Endsleigh moved from its

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

headquarters to

. In 1976 the NUS sold 100% of the company to Gouda Insurance International, as it was felt a stronger financial base was needed to fully exploit market opportunities. The NUS retained two seats on the board and in 1982 bought back a 14% shareholding. In July 1995, Endsleigh's founder and still driving influence,

Mike Naylor Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

, was killed in a car crash in

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at the age of 59. From 1993 to 1996, Endsleigh sponsored the

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. From 1988 to 1999 Endsleigh was the main shirt sponsor for

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, with its logo appearing on the players' shirts, and it did the same for

Cheltenham Town F.C. Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

from 1997 to 1999. In the late 1990s to early 2000s, a club called Endsleigh, later known as EFC Cheltenham, played in the

Hellenic Football League The Hellenic Football League, currently known as the Uhlsport Hellenic Football League for sponsorship reasons, is an English men's football league covering an area including the English counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, southern Buck ...

Zurich

In April 2002, a management buyout, led by the Managing Director, Mike Alcock, bought out Gouda and formed a partnership with

Zurich Financial Services Zurich Insurance Group Ltd is a Swiss insurance company, headquartered in Zürich, and the country's largest insurer. As of 2021, the group is the world's 112th largest public company according to ''Forbes'' Global 2000s list, and in 2011 it ran ...

. The company moved into the business market in 2000, and this combined with a 25% increase in customer base helped profits leap from £2.5m in 2000 to £8.6m in 2003. In February 2005 the 'Sunday Times PricewaterhouseCooper Profit Track 100' rated Endsleigh as the 76th fastest growing company in the UK, at 52% a year. In January 2007, Zurich acquired 100% shareholding. As of 1 September 2008, Endsleigh discontinued operating its local branch service (which was made up of 119 UK Branches). This was followed in early 2011 by the closure of the operations centre in Belfast, and the firm is now operated from its Cheltenham Head Office. The Cheltenham location also manages all non-sales related areas of the business, such as Marketing, Finance, IT, and the company's subsidiary businesses dealing with financial advice and business insurance, among other interests. Insurance giant Zurich to offload students’ favourite Endsleigh - The Swiss insurer has hired bankers to explore a sale of the popular students’ insurance brand, Sky News understands.
17:34, UK, Thursday 19 October 2017 A-Plan Holdings In March 2018, Endsleigh was acquired by A-Plan Holdings.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.endsleigh.co.uk/ Insurance companies of the United Kingdom Financial services companies established in 1965 Companies based in Cheltenham Zurich Insurance Group