Neil Grimshaw (pictured) has launched a commercial insurance brokerage in Huddersfield, choosing to seek direct Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation rather than operate as an appointed representative. Decello Ltd, based at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, serves businesses and high-net-worth private clients. Grimshaw founded Ravenhall Risk Solutions in 2006, sold it to Jensten Group, and subsequently served as a regional managing director there before leaving to set up Decello.
The firm holds its own FCA permissions under FCA No. 1052965. In the first three months of 2025, the regulator authorised just two new general insurance brokers, while several existing firms folded in the same period. That is a pattern BIBA described as “the canary in the coal mine” for the sector. Yet, a 30-year veteran choosing the DA route by design, rather than defaulting to an appointed representative structure, reflects a deliberate commercial and philosophical stance.
Grimshaw’s central argument is that clients who buy insurance without proper advice often discover the gaps in their cover only when a claim arises. “Too many businesses buy insurance as a commodity, and only find out what their policy really does when they make a claim,” he said. “Decello exists to change that. We take the time to understand how a business actually works, and design a programme around them. Advice comes first; then service follows.”
The cost and complexity of obtaining direct FCA authorisation as a new broker have led recent start-ups to opt for the appointed representative route instead, with one new entrant describing direct authorisation as simply not a practical option for a small firm. Grimshaw said he set up Decello as a directly authorised firm partly to demonstrate that the traditional route remains achievable, and that the structure gives the business a platform for faster growth.
Decello launches with four staff. Alongside Grimshaw as managing director, Roberta Noble serves as business and operations director, while Michelle France brings 39 years of broking experience across West Yorkshire. Janet Warrender draws on a near-40-year career spanning insurers and brokers.
Decello has established trading relationships with UK insurers, specialist wholesalers and MGA partners, and holds membership of the Cobra Network, giving the firm access to complex and hard-to-place risks from day one. Grimshaw said BIBA membership would follow, completing the infrastructure he considers necessary for a firm built on advice rather than volume.
