Sharston’s Ripe Thinking marks 10th year of growth as turnover hits £11.2m

Niche insurance company Ripe Thinking has announced a 22% turnover increase in its 10th consecutive year of growth.

The Sharston-based firm achieved sales of £11.2m in the 12 months to December 31 2017, up from £9.2m the year previous.

EBITDA grew from £1.96m in 2016 to £2.05m last year, a rise of 4.6%.

Staff numbers rose by 20% to 60 over the course of 2017, during which the company rebranded from The JRW Group to Ripe Insurance.

Ripe also expanded its range with three new products covering valuables, small business and photography, and invested in a new HQ in Manchester to double its office footprint.

Colin Whitehead, CEO of Ripe Thinking, said of the results: “Ripe has delivered another strong performance.

“It’s pleasing that all our products experienced growth in 2017 and policyholders should pass the 200,000 mark this year. It feels like 2017 was a year of investment; in rebranding, fresh new offices, digital capabilities and new products.”

He added: “2018 will see us explore new technologies and unique data-driven pricing models where policies, pricing and marketing can all be personalised to the individual’s needs.”