THE meteoric rise of a privately-owned Andover business continued last year with turnover at Be Wiser increasing by 20 per cent – and the promise of 90 more jobs.

Company finance director Andrew Dunkerley predicts further expansion for the insurance firm in the years ahead, and is looking to recruit additional staff over the next five months to add to its existing workforce of 540 based in offices across the town.

Mr Dunkerley said: “Be Wiser is fortunate to have a highly experienced and skilled board of directors, all of whom have helped develop the company over a short period of time to feature in the top ten personal lines insurance brokers in the UK.

“The hard work and dedication of our directors and staff are the bedrock of our growth and we will continue to invest heavily in training and associated staff costs to maintain our growth.”

During the year ending May 2014, the annual results showed that the number of policyholders increased by 23 per cent from 142,000 to 175,000, while shareholder funds leapt by 35 per cent to £1.66 million, while profits reached £2.2 million.

Part of the success of the firm has been its focus on staff and training, which has drained £2 million from its profits over the past two years but the company expects to see a good return on this investment in the future.

The firm, which only started trading seven years ago, is also very proud of its role in training staff.

The company is currently recruiting, and looking for school and college leavers (with GCSE and/or A-level qualifications) together with a third year of its graduate recruitment programme.