Business big shot: Peter Cullum of Towergate

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With a personal happening estimated majority not long ago at �1.7 billion, Peter Cullum, 59, could absolutely means to buy his dear Norwich City, if the bar strike tough times.

But yesterday, the desirous Norfolk-born billionaire, lifelong believer of the Canaries and owner of the Towergate word empire, set his takeover sights on a opposite target. For a favoured sum, Towergate paid for the John Charcol debt attorney out of administration, receiving with it IT systems and some-more than 100 staff and comparison management, together with John Garfield, the arch executive.

The takeover outlines a lapse to form for Towergate, that Mr Cullum, a former selling executive at Hiscox, founded in 1997. Towergates monetary services division, that 3 years ago denounced desirous plans to connect the marketplace for monetary advisers underneath Patrick Snowball, the former UK Aviva boss, was laid low by the credit crunch, itself opting for a pre-pack administration department and abandoning plans for a batch marketplace listing.

Mr Cullum, a deal-doer who has a fibre of acquisitions underneath his belt, will be means to make use of the John Charcol understanding to concrete Towergate as a big player in the debt markets. It will be combined to Towergates existent operations, with the staff of 5,000, a turnover of �400 million and pre-tax increase of about �400 million, nonetheless the John Charcol code name will be retained.

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Mr Cullum, whose multiple of entrepreneurship and hospitality has drawn comparisons with Sir Richard Branson, proposed his career in insurance, fasten Royal Insurance Group elderly eighteen prior to apropos the youngest chairman in the UK to pass his word exams at 21.

The deal-making was to follow twenty-one years later, when, carrying returned the Kent-based Economic Insurance to profitability, Mr Cullum led a government buyout for �6 million in 1993. Only 2 years later, Mr Cullum, who is tied together with dual daughters, sole the association to Hiscox for �32 million, staying on at the Lloyds of London insurer for a year prior to withdrawal to set up Towergate.

His commercial operation stretched rapidly, with Mr Cullum completing 150 acquisitions prior to last year. A �10 million personal concession to the Cass Business School has helped to form a Centre for Entrepreneurship. As well as Towergate raising �1 million a year for charities, Mr Cullum gives a estimable apportionment of his own gain in to the Cullum Family Trust, that supports childrens charities.