Broadbench
A directly authorised UK financial services firm specialising in tax-efficient protection and mortgage solutions for high-net-worth independent professionals. 15 years of consistent revenue. Positioned for accelerated growth.
The Company
Broadbench is a directly authorised financial services company in the United Kingdom, specialising in protection insurance and mortgage advice for independent professionals. The firm serves high-net-worth self-employed individuals operating through limited companies — primarily surgeons, medical practitioners, dentists, IT contractors, and fintech business owners.
The business model centres on demonstrating how clients can mitigate personal tax and save corporation tax by structuring protection products through their limited companies. This tax-efficient approach, combined with AI-enhanced bespoke client presentations, creates a compelling and differentiated proposition in the market.
Broadbench has traded consistently for over 15 years, generating reliable revenue at the million-pound mark annually. The company operates with a lean, highly optimised cost structure, making it exceptionally profitable at its current scale.
Surgeons & Medical Practitioners
Private practice surgeons earning £500k+. Key man, income protection, and life insurance structured through their practice. The highest-value client segment with individual cases reaching £26k–£48k.
IT Contractors & Fintech
Contractors earning £200k–£250k through limited companies. Business protection and mortgage advice tailored to the contracting lifecycle. Established lead channels and market dominance.
Business Owners & Directors
SME directors and high-net-worth entrepreneurs. IHT planning, business protection, and tax-efficient structuring. Expanding into barristers, lawyers, and dentists at the highest level.
Market Position
Broadbench holds a top-three position in the UK contracting protection and mortgage space, competing alongside Contractor Mortgages Made Easy and Freelancer Financials. The company has built a strong standalone commercial model with consistent profitability over 15 years of trading.
The company has secured commercial agreements with the leading lead providers in the contracting space, all with one-year severance terms. This provides a defensible and reliable pipeline of new business opportunities. Additionally, Broadbench has negotiated preferential rates with leading UK insurance providers, creating a competitive edge in pricing and product access.
Financial Track Record
Audited company P&L data from 2019 to 2026 (YTD). Normalised EBITDA adjusts for director remuneration, depreciation, and one-off items.
Operating profit adjusted for director remuneration (taken as consulting fees), depreciation, and one-off crypto write-offs. Market-rate director replacement of £140k (2 × £70k) deducted.
| Year | Revenue | Gross Profit | GP % | Op. Profit | Norm. EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | £1,361k | £875k | 64.3% | £130k | £285k |
| 2020 | £940k | £756k | 80.4% | £116k | £320k |
| 2021 | £1,071k | £860k | 80.3% | £128k | £506k |
| 2022 | £823k | £733k | 89.1% | £99k | £293k |
| 2023 | £1,023k | £942k | 92.1% | (£2k) | £96k |
| 2024 | £950k | £862k | 90.7% | £98k | £229k |
| 2025 | £864k | £777k | 89.9% | £66k | £89k |
| 2026* | £912k | £855k | 93.8% | (£23k) | £385k |
Directors take remuneration via consulting fees rather than PAYE salary. The normalisation replaces this with a market-rate cost for two protection advisers (£70k each), revealing the true underlying profitability of the business.
In 2022, Broadbench held funds on the FTX exchange which were lost during the platform's collapse. The resulting write-off (~£366k) was applied across the 2023–2025 tax years to offset corporation tax liabilities.
This was a one-off, non-operational event. The business continued to trade profitably throughout, absorbing the loss without any impact on client service, revenue generation, or operational capacity.
The normalised EBITDA figures above exclude crypto write-offs entirely, presenting the clean underlying performance of the business.
Insurance commission income represents ~77% of revenue — upfront indemnity commission paid on sale with a two-year liability period. The business operates as a highly efficient sales machine with consistent annual output.
Mortgage procuration and arrangement fees (~21%) provide recurring income through renewals and product transfers, creating a baseline revenue stream.
Staff costs (3 admins, 1 mortgage adviser, 1 marketeer) total ~£200k — a lean support structure that scales efficiently as revenue grows.
Gross margins have improved from 64% (2019) to 94% (2026), reflecting the strategic shift toward higher-margin protection products and away from lower-margin mortgage volumes. Protection now accounts for 83% of monthly written business.
Growth Strategy
Scale the proven model, diversify revenue streams, and position for a full exit within 3–5 years.
Launch Quickly
Ready, fire, aim over perfection. Prioritise speed to market with new client segments (surgeons, medical practitioners, dentists) and product lines.
Reduce Costs & Optimise
Eliminate retainers, move to project-only work, halt unnecessary CRM development. Maintain the lean, highly profitable operating model that has defined Broadbench.
Build Backend Products
Expand into Broadbench Wealth (BBW), pensions, investment panels, tax planning, global protection, and Dubai incorporation services. Create multiple revenue streams.
Delegate to Scale
Remove directors from frontline protection sales to address key-man risk. Implement AI automation across the sales process. Shift focus to BBW and strategic growth.
Scalable Lead Systems
Build outbound systems, automate repetitive inefficiencies, and expand lead generation through partners, referrals, LinkedIn, and email campaigns.
Track Metrics
Implement HubSpot, Salesforce, or equivalent KPI platforms for reality-based decision-making. Build the data infrastructure investors expect to see.
Broadbench has built a proven, profitable sales machine over 15 years. The constraint is not the model — it is the volume of opportunity. Every additional qualified lead fed into the system converts at a known rate into high-value revenue. The business requires not capital for operations, but strategic partnerships that open doors to new client segments and scale the lead pipeline. The economics are compelling: an additional adviser costs approximately £20–25k per month to operate but can generate £150k+ per month in revenue when supplied with adequate leads.
Sales Targets
Projected end-of-year targets based on a three-adviser model focused on surgeons, medical practitioners, and dentists (SMD).
Note: Broadbench's historical conversion rate of 30% significantly outperforms the industry benchmark of 8–15%. This is a key differentiator — the sales machine is proven. The primary constraint is lead volume, not conversion efficiency.
International Expansion
Broadbench Wealth (BBW) is a wealth management entity currently in the setup phase in Dubai, UAE. This represents a significant expansion opportunity, extending the Broadbench model into international markets and higher-value financial services.
The Opportunity
Broadbench is seeking a strategic partner — not simply capital. The business has a proven, profitable model that has generated consistent seven-figure revenue for over 15 years. What is needed is access to networks, expertise in scaling financial services businesses, and the strategic guidance to take a well-oiled machine to the next level. The directors are open to a minority equity stake (indicatively 25%+) in exchange for the right partnership.
For Discussion: The projected EBITDA range and appropriate valuation multiple require further analysis and validation. This is a key area where James's corporate finance expertise and investor network can provide critical guidance.
Suggested Actions — James
Introduce PE Contact (ex-Rockpool)
Connect Broadbench with the entrepreneur/investor who set up his own PE business after exiting Rockpool. He has experience with deal-by-deal fundraising and a pool of experts. Whilst he typically targets larger businesses, the growth story and trajectory should be compelling.
Explore Ardonna / Health & Protection Lead
Have an initial conversation with the contact who leads the health and protection business. Assess whether there is a fit for collaboration or investment, even if not immediately.
Sound Out Entrepreneurial Corporate Finance Advisers
Identify and introduce 1–2 corporate finance advisers from your network who have strong sector experience in insurance broking and are entrepreneurial in approach. These should be advisers who could potentially run a sell-side process when the time is right.
Advise on EBITDA Range & Valuation
Provide guidance on what a realistic projected EBITDA range would be given the growth targets, and what valuation multiple is appropriate for a business of this profile in the current market.
Review This Document
Review this strategic overview and advise on any additional information that would strengthen the narrative for potential investors. What is missing? What would a PE investor want to see?
Actions for Broadbench
Prepare Detailed Revenue Split
Break down revenue across protection, mortgages, and other product lines. Investors will want to understand the composition and identify which segments drive the most value.
Formalise 3–5 Year Financial Projections
Build out detailed financial projections showing the path from current revenue to target EBITDA. Include assumptions around adviser headcount, lead volume, conversion rates, and cost structure.
Address Key-Man Risk
Develop a concrete plan for transitioning Tom and Mike away from frontline sales. Document the process for onboarding and training new advisers, and the systems that enable this.
Document the Sales Machine
Create a clear, data-backed presentation of the lead-to-sale pipeline: sources, volumes, conversion rates, average values, and capacity. This is the core of the investment thesis.
Prepare for Due Diligence
Ensure financial records, compliance documentation, FCA authorisation details, and commercial agreements are organised and readily accessible.
Clarify Equity Position
Determine the range of equity stake the directors are willing to offer and under what terms. Consider what minimum stake an investor would need to be meaningfully incentivised.
Open Questions
James to review this document and revert with any questions or areas requiring additional detail. Once aligned, schedule a follow-up call to discuss introductions and agree a preliminary action plan. Broadbench to continue building the financial projections and operational documentation in parallel.