Katie Small: A smart move into the football elite

Young football stars with fast cars and lots of cash aren't your typical insurance customers. So, how do you tailor insurance services to meet their needs? Katie Small, head of Mercury West Associates, went in search of the answer.

When Katie Small became pregnant, she decided her days as an investment banker were numbered. "I was working 12-hour days and it wouldn't have been fair for a child." She quit her job selling shares for ABN Amro. When "a friend of a friend" asked her to invest in his new business, she jumped at the chance. It was to prove a smart move.

Michael Ward was setting up a speciality insurance brokerage for high-net-worth individuals and needed a partner. Small stumped up £70,000 for a 50% stake in the new firm, MWA Brokers. "I agreed to be a silent partner and let him run the business." Ward, an experienced insurance broker, had a big contact book and brought clients with him. His ace card was approval from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). This allowed him to market insurance products tailored for young footballers such as cover on high-performance sports cars. MWA soon began picking up lots of business from footballers.

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.