5 0 0TH E DITIO N VA P S P EC I A L
Built on Trust: How Seico Group Has Grown Alongside SBT and the Sussex Business Community When Sussex Business Times was first published in 1975, Britain was a very different place, and the idea of a local business magazine becoming a 500-issue institution would have seemed an ambitious dream. For an SME like Seico
VAP Special
Group, who have
been partnered with SBT Magazine for
four years, reaching
milestones alongside SBT is especially resonant. As the magazine marks its
extraordinary half-century of chronicling the Sussex business community, it
offers a natural moment to reflect on
Seico’s journey, one that began in 1990 and has since spanned over three
decades of navigating economic storms,
Seico Group, Hove Team
technological shifts and market disruption. Surviving is one thing, evolving to remain genuinely relevant to clients and the
wider business community, that is the real achievement for SMEs.
Rob Starr founded Seico Insurance and
Mortgages in 1990 with a clear purpose: to provide businesses and individuals with straightforward, expert financial
guidance. From those early days, the
emphasis was always on relationships, understanding clients’ needs, earning their trust and delivering advice that genuinely made a difference.
Over thirty-five years on, that founding
philosophy remains at Seico Group’s core, even as the business itself has grown considerably. What started as a local
enterprise has expanded to encompass
three offices in Hove, London and South
Africa, reflecting both the ambition of the team and the increasingly international nature of the clients they serve.
But growth in this sector is never
straightforward. The financial services landscape has been transformed
30 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk
beyond recognition since 1990, from
magazine; it is the heartbeat of the Sussex
disruption to the upheaval of a global
privilege to grow alongside it over more
For any SME operating in this space, the
heartfelt congratulations to Sam Thomas
shifts, but to use them as a catalyst for
something truly special. Sustaining a
working. Seico Group has consistently
issues takes vision, dedication and a
three decades in business.
organisations that make this region thrive.
Today, the business offers a
to many more issues to come.”
commercial finance and insurance
Rob Starr MBE, CEO, Seico Group
expertise spans those same decades.
To speak to a specialist broker about
navigating complex mortgage
finance needs, please get in touch to
sweeping regulatory change and digital
business community, and it has been a
pandemic and volatile property markets.
than three decades. I want to extend my
challenge is not simply to survive these
and Jackie Irving-Wilkinson for building
smarter, more client-focused ways of
business community publication to 500
done exactly that across more than
genuine passion for the people and
comprehensive range of mortgage, services, supported by a team whose
We raise a glass to that, and look forward
Whether working with individuals
your residential mortgage or commercial
decisions or businesses seeking robust
arrange a chat.
the Seico approach remains personal,
Residential:
commercial lending or insurance cover,
considered and thoroughly professional.
Mortgages@seicogroup.com
“We are incredibly proud to be a partner
Commercial@seicogroup.com
of this landmark 500th issue cover feature.
01273 778888
of Sussex Business Times and to be part SBT has always been more than just a
Commercial Finance:
www.seicogroup.com