Page 12 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine

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NEWS
PAINT&PANEL MARCH / APRIL 2023 WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
UK GROUP BUYS ENVEST
THE ARDONAGH GROUP, THE UK'S LARG-
est independent insurance distribution platform has completed its acquisition of Australian insurance firm Envest for $482 million.
Brisbane-based Envest is a privately owned insurance investment and distri- bution business focusing on brokers, agencies, and insurtechs with a work- force of more than 550 employees.
The businesses acquired as part of En- vest Group include a national network of insurance brokers operating under the Aviso brand, three direct to consumer insurance brands and eight intermedi- ated agencies. These include Allstate Underwriting and Blue Zebra Insurance.
EV SKILLS
SHADOW MINISTER FOR SKILLS, TIM
Crakanthorp, visited MTA NSW headquar- ters to hear more about their apprentice- ships training program and to discuss the importance of electric vehicle (EV) safety training, that MTA NSW has recently put in place to help educate the industry.
The Shadow Minister was enthusias- tic about MTA’s training facilities and programs which have seen a recent in- vestment of $1 million dollars in spe- cialised EV equipment.
Stavros Yallouridis, CEO of MTA NSW, used the opportunity to highlight to the Shadow Minister the financial burden facing automotive businesses who are required to upskill their workforce.
Almost 50,000 automotive technicians across NSW will need to undergo training in
SUNCORP 1H RESULTS
SUNCORP HAS ANNOUNCED ITS 2023
half year financial results with contin- ued strong top-line growth across the Group, improved underlying margins and positive investment returns.
Group net profit after tax of $560 mil- lion, was up by 44.3%, while cash earn- ings increased 62.9% to $588 million.
The Group reported gross written pre- mium (GWP) growth of 9.0% in its Aus- tralian general insurance business, and 12.2% in New Zealand.
While the underlying business dem- onstrated strong momentum, the Group's results were impacted by elevat- ed natural hazard activity which result- ed in the Group exceeding its natural hazard allowance by $99 million.
The sale of Suncorp Bank to ANZ Banking Group remains on track and is expected to complete in the second half of calendar year 2023, subject to ap- provals.
order to be able to safely work on EVs in the future and it's expected this will cost the in- dustry around $100 million.
This cost will have to be borne by small and family-owned businesses across the state and does not include the outlay of ad- ditional infrastructure and space required for servicing EVs.
Yallouridis says that government funding is crucial in order to prepare the automotive industry as it approaches its biggest transition in modern history.
“We are looking forward to working closely with government to ensure that the safety of the workers at the coalface of this transition is prioritised.”
Crakanthorp says he is impressed with MTA NSW’ training facilities and the level of investment they have dedi- cated towards upskilling the industry.
“It's great to see MTA NSW leading the charge when it comes to upskilling,” Cra- kanthorp said.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Stephen Jenkins, Robert Borg, Matthew Connor, Stavros Yallouridis, Tim Crakanthorp, Ian Price, Anthony Tomasetti, Collin Jennings, Anthony Bonanno.