A NEW national insurance company - set to create 150 Bolton jobs - is making its home on a major business park development at Egerton.

Broker Direct plc, which began operations last week from temporary accommodation near Manchester Airport, intends to be operating from permanent headquarters in Deakins Mill, off The Hall Coppice, from July 1.

The venture is a new hi-tech development in the industry backed by 700 registered brokers and Cornhill Insurance.

Management decided that Bolton was an "altogether better" location after weighing-up the attractions of other towns in the North-west, including Stockport, Warrington and Wigan.

At one point they considered moving the £8 million operation into new office space in the Tonge Valley, but in the end plumped for the Egerton scheme being developed by Eccles-based Charles Topham and Sons Ltd. This property company acquired the former bleach and dye works site two years ago and will invest about £5 million over the next five years.

Managing Director Richard Topham said that eventually the complex, which dates back to the 1780s, would provide about 800 hi-tech office jobs in approximately 100,000 sq ft of space.

"This is the first major office letting here," he said as he posed for photographs with Roy Green, Director and General Manager of Broker Direct.

Mr Green said there would be about 30 Bolton employees initially, rising to about 150 in a couple of years' time.

The initiative represents a fightback against the direct insurance operations which have transformed the industry in recent years.

About 700 of the UK's 3,000 registered insurance brokers are involved and Mr Green expects this figure to double over the next two to three years.

Customers throughout the country approach their brokers, who have direct computer links with the Bolton headquarters of Broker Direct.

The system allows people who choose Broker ahead of other companies to pay by credit card and receive their documentation on the spot, saving time and correspondence.

Claims and account enquiries will be dealt with by Bolton telephone service people operating on an 0800 number.

Mr Green said: "The basic concept is that with the new technology we can eliminate a lot of the costs that were in the broker way of doing things."

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