Press release from 07.12.2007
NRW.INVEST locates third-largest british direct car insurer in Cologne
- City successfully prevails over nationwide competitors as location
- Permanent Secretary Dr. Baganz: Admiral Group will strengthen Cologne as a location for the insurance industry
- Up to 120 jobs to be created in the medium term
Düsseldorf, 7 December 2007 - The British Admiral Group has opened its German head office AdmiralDirekt.de in Cologne. Initially, the third-largest British direct car insurer is employing 75 people at the Cologne location. In the medium term, the company wants to create a further 45 jobs. The insurer, which has already won various awards in the United Kingdom for its business and human resources management, would like to profit from the increasing competition in the German insurance market.
NRW.INVEST had been endeavoring to locate the British insurer since July 2006. "We worked on fulfilling the requirements of the Admiral Group to the utmost", explains Peter Glaessel, management board spokesman for NRW.INVEST. In the final round, Cologne succeeded in prevailing over its competitor Potsdam. "A key factor in our decision in favor of Cologne was ultimately the fact that sufficient qualified manpower with excellent knowledge of the insurance industry is to be found here", underlines Henry Engelhardt, CEO of the Admiral Group.
"We are delighted that we have been able to strengthen NRW further as an insurance location with the settlement of the Admiral Group", emphasizes Dr. Jens Baganz, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. "The insurance industry is a key sector for NRW."
AdmiralDirekt.de is the German branch of EUI Ltd, part of Admiral Group plc, the third-largest car insurer in the United Kingdom. The company, which began originally with a staff of 50 in Cardiff in 1993, now employs more than 2,300 people, has more than 1,400,000 insurance customers in Europe and in 2006 generated sales of approx. one billion euros.
Furhter info:
Annette Peis, Press and PR
Phone: +49 (0) 211-130 00 162
E-Mail: Peis@nrwinvest.com
NRW.INVEST GmbH
Economic Development Agency
of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Völklinger Str. 4
40219 Düsseldorf
