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•54 The 100 Greatest Business Ideas of All Time

Growth was steady and by time the Industrial Division was 25 years old, it was
necessary for new headquarters to be found. In 1879 the building, which is still its
HQ, was opened in Holborn Bars. The Pru was also engaged in the pioneering work
of the day, to introduce women into the work force. The new building included
facilities for women clerks.

The company’s publicity material records that ‘By the end of the century, Pru-
dential was well-established as the leading insurer in Britain regarded as a national
institution more than a commercial company. Across the country, one person in
three held a Prudential policy.’

In the first half of the twentieth century the Prudential co-operated with the gov-
ernment in collecting contributions to the state sickness and unemployment scheme.
The branding of the Prudential as more than a commercial company continued with
the ending of gender segregation in offices. They also took on women and retired men
to replace those called up for World War I and did not charge extra premiums to
enlisted men. This time period also saw the expansion of the company into overseas
markets, with a network of agencies across Europe and the British Empire.

After World War II the Prudential started to use their agent organisation as part
of their advertising, and a real agent, Fred Sawyer from Kent, became well known
all over the world as the Man from the Pru.

From the 1970s most expansion came from the acquisition of other companies.
The Prudential is now a market leader in most areas of personal finance. There are
no door-to-door Men from the Pru now; they have been replaced by higher-tech
ways of doing business.

Prudential reported total sales of £4.4 billion in the first nine months of 2002,
12 per cent up on the same period the previous year. It owns a fund manager and a
bank. Along with other life companies that it owns it is still a massive player in the
global insurance sector. But the business was built on door-to-door collection agents
guaranteeing that poorer people could have a decent funeral.