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Co-Pilot Finance and Insurance has taken off.
After a soft launch last October, the Sydney-based firm – which was founded by George Dib (pictured above right), who has a background in finance, and Peter Magoulias (pictured above left), a former broker – has officially opened for business.
The financial firm focuses on lending and insurance needs for small- and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and has already opened 13 agencies, or brokerage locations, throughout four states in Australia. Co-Pilot has its sights set on opening a total of 20 by year end and 100 by 2027.
"Our business is here to support businesses. We're focusing very heavily on their business finance and business insurance requirements," Dib, co-founder and chief executive officer, told Australian Broker. "When you look at the specific products that sit underneath those two categories: from a business finance perspective, we're talking asset finance, cash flow finance. In insurance, we're focusing very heavily on the business aspect of that. So that's machinery, equipment, liability, indemnity, cyber.
"We want to be the one brand for businesses," Dib said. "We want to be the business that they can rely on to help them grow, to help them maybe even reduce headcount, to help them with the next project, the next business that they want to add. We want to empower businesses, and we want to do it [under] one roof. That's really what we want to do. We're going to keep it nice and simple."
Co-Pilot primarily plays in the small and lower middle-market, with loans anywhere from $60,000 to $5 million, Dib said. In addition to the firm's broker channel, Co-Pilot also offers a direct-to-consumer channel. However, with Co-Pilot's ambitious plans to increase its agency locations fivefold in the next three years, the duo relies heavily on the broker channel.
Magoulias, co-founder and head of agency, called the brokers "the front line."
At present, there are agency locations in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. While there are no immediate plans to open in Western Australia, the Northern Territory or Tasmania, Dib said it would be a consideration in the future, depending on business needs.
Co-Pilot also offers residential loans, in addition to some larger commercial deals.
"But that's not at the core of our offering," Dib said. "The last thing I want is for us to for people to think that we are everything to everyone. Yes, we have the capacity; our systems enable us to be able to do any type of transaction. But our core purpose is making an impact on a business owner's life.
"Right now, as a business owner, you're going to try to go to an asset finance brokerage; then you'll go to a mortgage brokerage to talk about your cash flow needs. Then you'll go to a general insurance brokerage," Dib said. "Whereas, at Co-Pilot, we've looked at the entire picture and said, this can all be done under one roof; it can be simplified. And more importantly, we can manage the risks, because we understand the full picture."
