The East Anglia-based Alan Boswell Group has reported another year of growth, with both income and profits ahead of the previous 12 months.

The independent insurance broker and financial planning group, which has offices in Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, Attleborough and Peterborough, saw its income increase by more than 7% to more than £15m in the year to 31 March, with profits topping £3m.

The business has also remained debt-free while making large investments in capital expenditure and implementing a strong growth strategy, which has seen its total staff increase by 8% to 234.

Finance director Nick Drew said: “Our results demonstrate that our approach to business growth is sustainable. We intend to continue with this strategy, prudently investing in our assets and our people so that we remain the natural choice for insurance and financial advice in East Anglia.”

The strong annual results round off a year of good news for the group, with it having been recognised as Independent Insurance Broker of the Year at the Insurance Times Awards – thanks, in part, to its dedication to customer service.

“It’s a testament to our teams that we’re an award-winning business, which has been growing year-on-year,” said group director Chris Gibbs.

“Customer service is at the heart of what we do and the positive customer feedback we receive often singles out individual team members for the service they provide.

“We want to make insurance and financial planning simple for our clients, which is why we invest in ongoing training and development opportunities for our staff.

“We are looking to build on this further in the year ahead with the launch of our Quality First initiative, which provides a clear framework for our teams, encouraging them to exceed client expectations and build on our reputation as a business.”

Chairman Alan Boswell added: “We build strong relationships with our clients by offering friendly, expert advice and going the extra mile. Many of our customers have been with us for more than 20 years and we want to build lasting relationships with our new clients too.

“By investing in people, we’re sure customers will want to stay with us in years to come.”