Father and son duo launch Glasgow brokerage with £5m first year target

Founded by father and son, Richard and Domenico Davis, the firm brings together decades of industry experience and entrepreneurial tech insight to offer a more personal, client-focused approach to insurance.

Headquartered in Glasgow’s St Vincent Street, Octo aims to disrupt the increasingly consolidated UK brokerage market by offering a tailored service backed by big-agency expertise and data-led decision making.

28-year-old Domenico Davis, already a successful entrepreneur with his 2021 launch of PropertyMarketIntel, brings a fresh, tech-driven perspective to the traditional insurance model. His background in data science is a key asset to Octo’s growth strategy and client offering, particularly within the property and construction sectors, with the brokerage having access to PropertyMarketIntel’s existing client base of over 3000 property investors.

Richard Davis, with over 40 years’ experience in insurance broking, reinforces the company’s commitment to relationship-led service rooted in family values, an approach the duo say is often missing in today’s market.

Richard Davis, director, said: “Between 2006 and 2024, the number of brokers regulated by the FCA fell by 54%. As a result, we’re operating in a market increasingly dominated by large, consolidated brokerages where local client service is often sacrificed for scale.

“Client-centricity and relationship-building are key for Octo, and our aim is to provide the antidote to the faceless commercial insurance provision that has become the norm.”

Alongside Richard and Domenico, Octo launches with a team of experts located across the UK and has ambitious plans to grow both its Glasgow and London offices, as well as its presence in other parts of the country.

Octo specialises in corporate insurance, surety bonds and building warranties across several industries including construction, manufacturing, leisure, private equity, public sector, property, technology, transport and automotive.

The launch of the brokerage is accompanied by the arrival of Octo Private Clients, an insurance broking service for high-net worth individuals with high-value assets to protect, from art and jewellery collections, to cars, luxury yachts and property portfolios.

Domenico Davis, director, said: “It’s an exciting time to be bringing Octo to market, we believe it is the future of insurance broking.

“We’re reviving the personalised service that previous generations valued and are pairing it with cutting-edge technology and data-driven insight. It’s this combination of human connection and smart solutions that allows us to deliver insurance that genuinely fits our clients’ needs.”