Paul Bradshaw joins Sanlam UK Board as non-executive director

Bradshaw's career spans 35 years in financial services working for brands such as Abbey, Scottish Amicable and Skandia Life Assurance, the firm he co-founded and with which he made his name pioneering open architecture.

Sanlam UK was established to operate as a single, consolidated reporting entity for all the UK interests of Sanlam Limited, South Africa's leading financial services group. Bradshaw's appointment will help strengthen the Group's retail proposition in the UK and he will be instrumental in overseeing the co-ordinated development of the firm's growing portfolio of financial services businesses operating in distribution, packaging, administration and asset management services.

Bradshaw will also be appointed as non-executive chairman of Rhyl-based IFA Buckles (Buckles Holdings Limited). Sanlam acquired a 60 per cent in Buckles in April this year.

Lukas van der Walt, Sanlam UK chief executive said: "We are delighted to welcome Paul on board and look forward to the benefits his vast experience will bring, to aide the growth of Sanlam UK."

"Our aim is to empower each of our independent businesses by creating a framework through which they are able to thrive through sharing knowledge and experience together with access to capital for growth. Bradshaw's significant financial services experience will help speed the development of these plans."

Bradshaw added: "I am really looking forward to helping Lukas build a great business in Sanlam UK and personally it will be extremely stimulating to extend my interests into broader markets."

Bradshaw also acts as a non-executive director for Sanlam UK-owned pensions and investments firm Merchant Investors Assurance Limited and Principal Holdings Limited, and is non-executive chairman of the IFA-led Nucleus wrap, in which Sanlam UK holds a 42.5 per cent stake.

Previous non-executive positions for Bradshaw include M&S Money, GE Life and Perpetual Investments Ltd. Bradshaw is a fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and began his career as an actuarial student with Pearl Assurance.