Chartered insurance broker and independent financial adviser Woodward Markwell has reported a 30%-plus increase in revenue for the year to January 31.

Andrew Johnson, managing director at the Ipswich-based firm, said 2015 had been a “challenging” year but the company had continued to invest in its people, in terms of both training and development and hiring additional staff.

He said: “2015 proved to be a challenging year with a degree of caution still evident in the local economy as we came out of the recession.

“Full credit to the entire team who rose to the challenge and following an increase in our staff levels by 50%, investment to enhance our back office systems and commitment to grow the business on the back of ever increasing demand we have benefitted from the best year in the company’s long history.

“The early signs are that the next year will continue in the same vein as we have already secured several new clients and have met over 10% of the annual budget within the first week of the year.”

He added: “We constantly strive to achieve excellence in customer service by making our clients experience as seamless as possible, ensuring we are focused on delivering the highest professional standards whilst building and developing strong relationships to enhance client outcomes. We thank all our clients, old and new for their continued support.”