Henry Engelhardt: Admiral founder and the father of Welsh fintech

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When Henry Engelhardt and his co-founders were drawing up plans for what would become Admiral Group, Cardiff was not top of the list. In fact, South Glamorgan County Council, as it was then, was simply the only local authority to respond.

Yet more than 30 years later, the company has become one of Wales’ biggest business success stories employing tens of thousands, returning billions to the local economy and reshaping the way insurance is done.

Speaking at exclusively to Businessin Wales at FinTech Wales’ 100th event, Engelhardt recalled how location was almost an afterthought.

“There were five of us writing the business plan [in London] for what became Admiral. And we knew we could put the business anywhere outside the M25. We sent off letters to 10 areas that give you grants for locating your business there. We heard from one the next day, and that was South Glamorgan County Council. And we didn’t hear from the other nine.”

Despite the clear enthusiasm on this side of the Severn Bridge, Cardiff still almost missed out. “We were ready to go to Brighton. [We had] no grants, we had a building picked out, it was convenient for us because we all lived in the southeast. Brighton was where we were going to head and start up the business,” he explained.

But then came the deal that changed everything. “Only about five weeks or so before we were going to move in, the WDA [Welsh Development Agency] at the time plumped for a one-million-pound grant. We took it and we got off to a flying start. 

“We didn’t really need the money in the end, but we did take it. I reckon we put somewhere around £3 billion back in the local economy and that’s growing at £350 or £450 million a year. So, it turned out to be a pretty good investment on their million.”

Admiral has always been known for doing things differently. That culture of innovation, Engelhardt believes, has been central to its success. We asked him what made Admiral such a hit in the early days.

“Not only ability to innovate, but our desire to innovate. We always wanted to be different. And so, we would do things differently. We did things that were absolutely taboo in the insurance industry, and they worked for us. They might have been ho-hum in other industries, but they were heresy in insurance. And then they worked, and other people started to imitate us,” he said.

Hiring the right people to share that philosophy was equally important. “We were very fortunate to hire a lot of people who shared that philosophy and were keen to think their way through problems and improve things for our customers and our staff through innovation.”

Engelhardt and his family quickly settled into life in Wales. “It was amazing. We had lived in Kent, and we had more people say hello to us when we got to Cardiff than we said goodbye to after three-and-a-half years in Kent. It’s a lovely place. The people here are genuinely nice, friendly, warm and welcoming.”

That sense of community has been mirrored inside Admiral itself. “I think Admiral employs about 10,000 in Wales now, but we’ve had upwards of 50-100,000 people work for Admiral over the 30 plus years we’ve been in business,” Engelhardt noted.

“It’s been great for us, and I think it’s been good for the area to have us here. We’re kind big fish in a modest pool and that’s nice for us. We are Welsh and we’re proud of it. And we do fly the flag as much as we can and we’re very glad we’re located here. It was a great decision for Admiral Group.”

“I’m very pleased that we have always had, as a company, a very strong sense of right and wrong. And that continues to this day, The current management team, it’s all about the customer, the customer, the customer.

“If you do right for your customers, everything else will fall into place. We believe we do right for our customers by doing right for our staff. We have a very simple philosophy: if people like what they do, they’ll do it better. So, we go out of our way to make Admiral a great place to work. And that does seem to really, really hit home.”

That philosophy translated into real rewards. After Admiral floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2004, thousands of staff received shares. The results were life-changing for some employees.

“This one young lady looked to her boss and did her multiplication and said ‘oh, this is great, I’m going to get £3,200, I can take a nice holiday’. And her boss did a little calculation. He said ‘No, you’re going to get £32,000!’. She nearly passed out.”

Engelhardt has turned his attention to leadership. His latest book reflects on what he sees as a global deficit in good management.

“The world is suffering an acute shortage of great leaders and managers. You see it in business, but you see it all over the place, in all walks of life. And if I’m on any kind of a crusade, it would be to create a world of better leaders and managers. That’s what this book tries to do, to help you become a great leader and manager.”

From a £1m grant to a £10bn valuation, Admiral’s rise under Henry Engelhardt is a case study in the power of innovation, community and putting people first. And with his mission to build better leaders, his legacy could extend far beyond insurance.

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