Our history
Openwork is the largest multi-tie network in the UK. Although we’ve grown quickly in the years since our 2005 launch, our roots actually go back a lot further.
When Allied Dunbar grew out of Hambro Life in the mid-1980s, its tied sales force expanded too. This culminated in the acquisition of Hill Samuel’s direct sales force in 1994, and then Abbey Life’s top 1,000 advisers in 2000.
In the same year Allied Dunbar’s parent company, British American Financial Services, was bought by Zurich who relaunched the newly-expanded sales force as The Franchise Network. In 2001 it changed its name to Zurich Advice Network (ZAN), before becoming Openwork four years later.
In 2008 Openwork launched its investment company, Omnis, as a joint venture with Octopus Investments. One year later, Martin Davis joined as Openwork CEO, implementing a new strategy designed to help current and potential advisers of all types thrive in the post-RDR world.
Here’s a brief look at how Openwork formed.
| 1971 | Hambro Life formed. |
| 1985 | Hambro Life becomes part of BAT Industries & Allied Dunbar formally launched. |
| 1994 | Allied Dunbar acquires Hill Samuel’s direct sales force. |
| 1998 | Zurich Financial Services buys British American Financial Services from BAT Industries, acquiring Allied Dunbar in the process. The Franchise Network launches and, two years later, recruits Abbey Life’s top 1,000 advisers. |
| 2001 | The Franchise Network becomes Zurich Advice Network. |
| 2005 | Openwork officially launches as Zurich’s exclusive multi-tied financial distribution network. |
| 2008 | Omnis launches as joint venture with Octopus. |
Want to be part of it?
If you want to be a part of one of the UK’s largest multi-tied mortgage and financial advice networks, just get in touch.