A pair of Cwmbran-based serial entrepreneurs are celebrating a £1.7m turn over in insurance premiums in the first year of their new business.

David Harlow, 47, and Stephen Peck, 46, started Quote Detective in February 2016 to provide an insurance broker service to specialist sectors of the motor industry.

The business partners, who have a back ground working within management and IT in the insurance sector, previously created the company Quote Exchange, suppling price comparison software to industry leaders.

They sold that company for £3.2m in 2011 and, identifying a gap in the market for specialist motor insurance, started Quote Detective in early 2016 with a staff of three.

In just a year the business has grown to 13 employees and the rapid expansion has not gone unnoticed, with Quote Detective recently making the shortlist for two categories in the Business Growth Awards South Wales 2017.

David Harlow, CEO, said: “We have both worked within the insurance industry for years and realised there was a gap in the market for a broker specialising in higher risk areas such as high performance cars, modified vehicles and young drivers.

“Having already created and sold a successful business it was exciting to go right back to the start. We are fortunate that we have a dedicated, core management team that have been with us from the very beginning and have helped to make Quote Detective such a success in such a short space of time.

“We have recently taken on four new employees and hope to take on a further eight staff by August 2017, and with some exciting projects in the pipeline this growth shows no signs of stopping for the foreseeable future.”

Quote Detective is based at the Springboard Business Innovation Centre in Cwmbran, a joint venture between Torfaen County Borough Council and Welsh Government to support technology companies with high-quality accommodation and access to business support.

Stephen Peck, head of IT, said: “Our aim is to go the extra mile for our clients, providing them with a high standard of service at a cost effective premium.

“Springboard is the perfect environment for us at this stage in the business. It has helped us to keep costs down and invest our resources into training and upskilling our staff. They are our most important assets and we feel it is important to develop them into industry experts that can deliver the best possible service for our clients.”

Torfaen’s executive member for regeneration, Cllr Lewis Jones, said: “David and Stephen are a perfect example of what Springboard was originally set up to do.

“They started their first business with us in 2005, built it up creating local jobs, and finally expanded into their own premises in Cwmbran, benefitting the local economy.

“Now they are back and in just a year have created 10 new jobs for people in the local area. I am delighted that the support they have received here has allowed them to grow and hope that their second year is every bit as successful.”