J001010 - Lycetts Newsletter Jan 2024 LR - Flipbook - Page 3
Alan Sinclair
Angus Keate
Nick Straker
Ian Martin
COM I NGS & G OI NGS
When I wrote this article last year, the news was dominated by events in Ukraine. Sadly, despite
continuing loss of life, not much has changed there, and we have since seen the tragedy of the IsraeliPalestinian con昀氀ict. There is no helpful commentary that I can add other than the observation that
historically Arab-Israeli wars have tended to spill over into neighbouring countries. Unfortunately,
this appears to be happening, with ever greater human cost and now, threats to shipping.
Charles Foster
Chief Executive
A combination of energy supply insecurity combined
with higher shipping costs may yet impact UK
inflation and interest rates. Surprisingly, and directly
impacting many of our readers, agricultural
commodity prices have not reacted to these events,
indeed wheat is now trading at a lower level than
when the Ukraine war broke out in February 2022 –
hence a partial explanation of the protests in France,
Germany and elsewhere.
After the post-Covid hikes in building cost inflation,
costs are levelling off. Figures provided by the
Building Cost Information Service (part of RICS) show
annual building cost inflation peaking at 18.7 per cent
in January 2023, but dropping to a more manageable
four per cent by the turn of the year.
In the insurance market, consolidation of both
brokers and insurers continues apace. Combined
with the ability for investors to earn higher returns in
other sectors, this is restricting insurance capacity
and hence choice. For the first time in my working
life, there is a real danger that difficult risks are
impossible to place, and in many cases there is
effectively only one insurer. Not good news in what
has traditionally been a very competitive market.
Turning to Lycetts news, as part of our ongoing
succession plans, after three years Denise Cockrem
stood down as both chair and director of Lycetts to
concentrate on her commitments as Finance Director
of the Benefact Group. We are pleased to welcome
Ian Martin in her place, who joins after a career in
insurance at HSBC.
Nick Straker will be retiring from Lycetts at the end of
December 2024 after 41 years with the company. In
preparation for this he stood down from the board of
Lycetts Financial Services Ltd (LFS) from July 2023.
Nick was Managing Director of LFS for 25 years,
before relinquishing this position in 2016. He will
continue as an adviser and arrange to transfer his
clients to new advisers during the course of this year.
Also in July, Angus Keate retired from his various
Lycetts directorships. I’m pleased that he will
continue to work for Lycetts as a financial adviser
looking after a substantial number of clients, and as
an ambassador for the whole business. Joining
Lycetts in 1986, Angus was our Chief Executive from
2007 to 2017 and Deputy Chairman of Lycetts and
Chairman of LFS for the past six years.
After 20 years as an Account Executive in Charlbury,
which he joined after working for Cazenove, Alan
Sinclair retired at the end of December. His clients
have been passed to new advisers over the last few
months.
To enable his retirement, we bought G D Anderson &
Co from Geoffrey Anderson in 2022. The business
now trades as Lycetts and, after running it for 51
years, Geoffrey retired in March. Venetia Anderson
also retires, in her case after 47 years in the business.
She joined in 1977 when the business was based in
London, and the office was almost immediately
blown up by an IRA bomb.
Collectively, these individuals have devoted 186 years
to the business. I am extremely grateful to all of them
for their long service and for the proud legacy that
they have created, although we will miss their years
of acquired knowledge. For those leaving the
business, I wish them every success and happiness
for whatever comes next.
In July, Lycetts acquired the ongoing business of BBA
Insurance Services, an equine and bloodstock broker,
which has been absorbed into our Newmarket office.
We were also successful in acquiring Martin-Redman
Partners in January 2024. They are a financial
services business operating in the East Midlands, and
we welcome Ben Sear and Julian Martin-Redman to
LFS. Ben joined us earlier in the year and became
Managing Director of LFS in January, and Julian is a
senior Financial Adviser. We will retain their office at
Grantham, where we plan to use their reputation to
establish a general insurance presence in that area. I
warmly welcome Ben, Julian, their wider team and
especially their clients.
For Lycetts, 2023 has been a year of internal change
and, as ever, I remain grateful for your continued
support, particularly those clients who have joined
us from other businesses, or who have moved to a
new adviser as a result of retirements.
Nationally, 2023 was a year of celebration with the
Coronation of a new King. 2024 promises elections
in many countries worldwide. May the wisest
candidates prevail.
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