Bennetts

For the surname, see Bennetts (surname).
Bennetts Biking Services Limited
Private company
Industry Finance and Insurance
Founded 1930
Headquarters Peterborough, United Kingdom
Key people
 Gordon Bennett, founder
Vincent Chaney, Managing Director
Products Financial Services
Parent Saga Group
Website www.bennetts.co.uk

Bennetts is a specialist motorbike insurance broker headquartered in Peterborough, with a contact centre in Coventry, England. The company is part of the Saga Group and currently has over 220,000 policyholders across the UK. The Managing Director is Vincent Chaney.[1]

History

Bennetts was founded by Gordon Bennett in 1930 in Coventry and initially provided general insurance services for customers in the West Midlands. By the early 1980s, it focused solely on providing insurance to motorcyclists.[2]

In 2000, Bennetts launched its quote and buy on-line facility.[3] It was acquired by the BGL Group in 2001.[4]

In 2011 the company launched an on-line portal enabling motorcyclists and dealers to advertise their bikes for sale,[5] and in 2012 it launched a social network intended to become the "ultimate biker website".[6] Bike Social is managed by former Motorcycle News editor Marc Potter [7] as part of his role as Bennetts' Head of Community.[8]

On January 28, 2015, it was announced that Saga Group was to purchase Bennetts from BGL Group for a reported £26.26m.[9] The sale was completed on July 1, 2015.[10]

Sponsorships

Bennetts is very active in the sponsorship of motorcycle race teams, events and individual racers. The company is the title sponsor of the Bennetts Suzuki [11] team in the British Superbike Championship and is a personal sponsor of MotoGP rider Scott Redding,[12] Isle of Man TT racer John McGuinness (motorcycle racer) and young Red Bull Rookies MotoGP Cup prodigy Rory Skinner.[13] Bennetts is also an official partner of the Isle of Man TT races [14] and, between 2005 and 2008 was the title sponsor of the British Superbike Championship.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bennetts.co.uk/bennetts-news/latest-news/bennetts-joins-saga-family-after-sale-finalised
  2. ↑ History of Bennetts
  3. ↑ Bennetts goes live with online facility Insurance Age (2000)(registration required)
  4. ↑ History of BGL Group
  5. ↑ Bennetts launches free bike classifieds Peterborough Today (2012)
  6. ↑ http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/bennetts-claims-first-brand-owned-social-network/4002334.article
  7. ↑ http://www.thedrum.com/news/2012/10/02/bennetts-launches-dedicated-social-network-bikers
  8. ↑ http://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/profile/348-potski/blog/
  9. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/28/saga-biker-motorcycle-insurance-bennetts
  10. ↑ http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/13415232.Saga_buys_motorcycle_insurance_firm/
  11. ↑ http://www.bikesportnews.com/news/news-detail/bennetts-to-back-halsall-suzuki-for-bsb-2015
  12. ↑ http://www.scottredding45.com/partners/
  13. ↑ http://roryskinner.com/sponsors/
  14. ↑ http://www.iomtt.com/Partners/Bennetts.aspx
  15. ↑ http://www.bennetts.co.uk/bennetts-news/latest-news/bennetts-announced-as-title-sponsor-of-halsall-suzuki-british-superbike-team/

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, October 16, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.