Wholesale broker THB Group is axing its in-house marketing team in a bid to cut costs.

Chairman Vic Thompson said "With the year-end results due soon, it is inevitable that cutting costs has been a major driver in the decision to take marketing out of house."

The results are due in May 2005. Profits in the six months ended 31 October 2004 were "seriously affected by strong hurricane activity in the US and the weak dollar," the company said.

Thompson insisted there were no plans to outsource any other managing activities at this stage.

The group's niche Lloyd's broker firm, Thompson Heath & Bond, has finalised a lease on 18,000 sq ft of office space in Leadenhall Street.

Thompson said the move "represented a good opportunity to assess the effectiveness of all aspects of the business".