East Midlands development led by Hull and Fox

Nottingham-based commercial SME broker Russell Scanlan has opened its first office outside of the city, as it aims to expand in the East Midlands.

The broker, one of the oldest in the UK having been established in 1881, has begun trading in Leicester, with a new office based in Glenfield, and has made two senior appointments.

Jim Hull has been appointed as broking director and Ian Fox has joined as account director, both coming from Willis in Leicester.

Hull, who has over 20 years’ experience working for commercial brokers, had a brief stint working in Birmingham before returning to the East Midlands, where he has been based for over 16 years. Fox previously worked for Bevan Fox Insurance Brokers and Bain Hogg.

Russell Scanlan’s managing director, Bryan Banbury, said: “We saw the opportunity to recruit Jim and Ian as one we could not miss. They both are extremely professional and fit in perfectly with the ethos of Russell Scanlan.

“We are very excited at the prospect of operating a second office and Leicester is the ideal location to expand within the East Midlands.”

Russell Scanlan, which also specialises in high net worth private clients, was acquired in a management buy-out in November 2007. Last year, it had an annual turnover of about £1.8m, and posted gross written premium in the region of £12m.