Expertise – (from left) Darren and Cheryl
Roulston, Amy McEwan and Aaran Flanagan
have launched a new arm of Bespoke
Financial Services for offshore and site
workers.
NEXT LEVEL
Bespoke Financial is moving up a notch with new service…
By Colin Young
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s a former scaffolder accustomed to
dangling at dizzying and dangerous
heights, financial adviser Darren
Roulston has long dreamed of providing
proper protection for offshore and site
workers.
Now, thanks to support from Teesside-
based company Bespoke Financial Services,
the 44-year-old from Middlesbrough has
launched a new scheme to help employees
who are so often overlooked and neglected.
Bespoke Financial, based in Stockton, are
now ready to offer the best insurance cover
and a whole range of financial services to
oil rig workers or land-based labourers.
Roulston has established a team of four,
including wife Cheryl, who have spent
the last three months researching all the
products and schemes available for workers
in these different sectors.
The result is a formidable package they
can put to the type of workers he rubbed
shoulders with on building sites across the
country, encouraging a different culture
when it comes to life insurance and critical
illness cover.
Roulston said: “Less than three years ago
I was still travelling all over as a scaffolder
and the perception for workers like me
and offshore workers is that they can’t get
insurance or there have always been ‘load-
ins’, in other words extra costs because of
the nature of the work.
“Things have changed over the last five
to ten years and generally people don’t get
paid now if they are off work, unless they
are staff, and don’t get benefits because
they are temporary or agency staff. The
onus is on the individual to get cover.
“The idea is to target people to be
introducers because we don’t know
everyone but we know we now specialise
in that work. A lot of the offshore work, for
example, is off Aberdeen, Hull, Norwich and
how do we get out there?
“We will train people from Teesside
who can earn an extra income to become
influencers and introduce us to their
workmates and be advocates of our
business.”
Roulston left his job in scaffolding two
years ago to join Bespoke, which was
launched by Lee Flanagan in November
2014 at the firm’s Boho Four base in
Middlesbrough, offering advice on
mortgages, critical illness cover, life
insurance, income protection and insurance
services.
He had previously spent 20 years working
for a local authority as a sports development
and education officer before going into
the building trade. The change of career
has already brought its rewards and earlier
this year he was crowned number one
protection adviser at a prestigious national
awards event hosted by protection network
PRIMIS.
Now employing more than 40 staff, and
still growing, Bespoke was also named
Number One Protection Firm at the event in
Birmingham in February.
Lee Flanagan added: “Darren is the
number one adviser in the UK, beating
3,000 people across the country, and
that is huge, not just for him, but for
Middlesbrough as well.
“I am so proud of him and what he has
achieved in a short space of time, and the
town should be too.”
To enquire about any of Bespoke’s services, call the team on 01642 931238, email
[email protected] or go to bespokefinancialteesside.co.uk