Sanlam UK’s new chief executive plans to turn the company into a “significant player” in Britain’s financial services industry – and is willing to close offices to achieve this.
Jonathan Polin, who took on the role at the beginning of this month and has a reputation for restructuring companies, has admitted there will be change at Sanlam, but said he was still finalising these plans.
“Globally, Sanlam is a huge business, but in the UK it is not that big. Let us be honest, it is not a well-known brand.
“There is no point in Sanlam playing around in the UK, because the profits we would derive from it wouldn’t even touch the sides.
“It has to aim to be a significant player in the UK. You don’t do that overnight – it has to be built, – but Sanlam is a believer in the long game.”
Mr Polin stepped down as chief executive at Ashcourt Rowan last year as part of the Towry deal. He spent nearly four years at the firm, transforming it from a loss-making entity with a market cap of £22m to a business worth £129m.
Since arriving at Sanlam, one of his first changes has been to bring its UK businesses under the management remit of a single corporate entity, forming Sanlam UK, a group with combined assets under management and influence of nearly £9bn.
Mr Polin said: “It took me a long time to understand what on earth was here. By bringing everything into one company we will give a clearer focus.
“The reality is there will be change, because there always is when a new chief executive arrives.”
The reality is there will be change, because there always is when a new chief executive arrives.The company will seek to grow by acquisition, but only where it is “correct and sensible”, with no imminent plans to do so, said Mr Polin, who pointed out that acquisitions were, “by their very nature, opportunistic”.
Mr Polin also addressed the issue of Sanlam’s review of its offices in Rhyl and Worcester. “As part of the acquisition of Buckles a number of years ago, its back office processes were centred around Rhyl,” he said.
He added: “There is also a big operational base with a life company in Bristol, and there was no economic justification for having both. We are in the process of completing that migration at the moment and should be finished in the next couple of months.”
