As MB Mulcahy insurance approaches its 30th anniversary year the man behind the brand tells the Irish Post he is confident for the next chapter.
When Michael Mulcahy decided to go it alone in the world of insurance in 1982 he quickly decided it would be his name above the door and his reputation on the line as he strove to provide a unique service which put the client first.
The Co Tipperary-born broker had a lengthy history in the industry already, after cutting his teeth at Alliance Insurance in Co Waterford in 1967 before being moved to London as one of the first Irish brokers to work the busy city circuit.
"It was 1972 when I moved to London with the Alliance, which became Sun Alliance and is now RSA," he told the Irish Post when we visited his recently refurbished South Wimbledon office this week.
"That was quite an experience as it wasn't a great time to be Irish in London; there was a lot of prejudice about."
But the insurance stalwart, now 63, was determined to succeed and quickly found his industry-schooled experience brought him great recognition from his peers.
"I was always recognised for being schooled in the industry and that was quite a prestigious thing within the industry," he admits.
"The culture of the work was quite different then of course, there was a lot of wining and dining clients and I was always the one sent out to look after them.
"We're going back to a time where all the London brokers wore bowler hats - they wanted me to do the same, but that wasn't going to happen."
He added: "So there was a great buzz and it was a great experience but in 1982 I decided to get out of the business.
"At least I thought I would and if I didn't I would start something on my own."
With that decision MB Mulcahy was born, a specialist insurance broker which has remained in the Wimbledon area ever since and has continued to succeed despite the economic ups and downs both here and back home.
"We would always have had a large number of Irish clients," Mr Mulcahy said.
"That has obviously changed somewhat over the years, people have gone home when the boom hit, but then people have come back in more recent years."
The British recession also brought its own ups and downs for the businessman, who also has a home in the Burren in Co Clare.
"We mainly provide public liability insurance, so for contractors, tradespeople and the likes," he explained.
"We have lost a few clients through the recession and we have seen people choose basic rate options rather than the larger policies they may have gone for before, but that said we are still going quite nicely and we are confident for the future."
He added: "The thing with us is we pride ourselves on our service, we just provide a quality service and we have a good reputation which we have never let slip.
"We look after our clients and they have been loyal to us because of that."
Mr Mulcahy and the team at his Merton High Street office are now looking forward to celebrating the 30th year of the business in 2012, and claim the theme for the next chapter is "sell, sell, sell".
For further information visit www.mbmulcahy.co.uk call 02085432212 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it