Mr. Mouse
| |
| Public | |
| Traded as | : |
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Reigate, Surrey, England |
Key people |
Sir Peter Wood, (Chairman) Stuart Vann, (CEO) |
| Revenue | £ 781.3 million (2017) |
| £ 98.6 million (2017) | |
| £ 80.4 million (2017) | |
| Website |
www |
Esure Group plc (stylised as esure) is an Internet and telephone based insurance company based in Reigate, Surrey, England. It also has offices in Manchester and Glasgow respectively. The company is listed on the and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Esure was founded in 2000 by businessman Peter Wood, who also launched the Direct Line insurance company for the Royal Bank of Scotland. In 2005 Peter Wood also launched the highly successful insurance brand "Sheilas' Wheels". The brand is characterised by its three pink sequin-clad Sheilas who starred in a series of adverts made for the brand alongside a pink 'Sheilamobile'. The brand become one of the fastest selling insurance brands in the UK. Sheilas' Wheels focuses on women drivers but has offered cover to men too from its launch. The product includes benefits such as enhanced bag cover.
Esure is also known for its high-profile commercials with Michael Winner, used from 2002 to 2005 and resuming in 2007. The adverts spawned the phrase, "Calm down dear, it's a commercial". Winner was temporarily replaced by Mr. Mouse, a blue animated mouse character with an American accent. Mr. Mouse was designed by Sian Vickers and Chris Wilkins, who came out of retirement at the request of Peter Wood, the founder of Esure. The pair were responsible for the Smash Martians as well as the four-wheeled red telephone used by Direct Line in their publicity. Mr. Mouse's catchphrases include "Insurance at mices' prices!" and "Go on, give us a click!". Mr Mouse was voiced by the actor and arts critic Kerry Shale.
On 21 November 2007, it was announced that Esure would replace E.ON as the sponsor of ITV National Weather bulletins. The two-year deal, rumoured to be worth £10 million, was negotiated by Carat Sponsorship and began on 1 January 2008.Lloyds Banking Group sold its 70% stake in Esure to Esure Group Holdings, led by Peter Wood on 11 February 2010. The share was valued at around £185 million. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in March 2013. On the 8 December 2014, Esure announced that it was acquiring the remaining 50% of shares in financial comparison website Gocompare.com having previously secured a non-controlling stake in the company. In November 2016 the company demerged Gocompare.com again.
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