Admiral Group, which employs almost 1,000 in Newport city centre, is celebrating its 25th birthday today.

Launched on January 2, 1993, with just one brand, zero customers and 57 members of staff, Admiral now has 15 brands around the world with more than five million customers, and 9,000 members of staff (more than 6,300 of these in South Wales).

The business opened the bespoke Admiral House in Newport city centre in June 2014 with 450 staff. The base is now home to 994 employees.

In its quarter century of operating, Admiral has seen turnover grow from £18m in 1993, to £2.58bn in 2016 (its last reporting year).

The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in September 2004 with a valuation of £711m and is now worth around £5bn. It currently flies the flag as the only FTSE100 company with its headquarters in Wales.

In that time, it has contributed £1.15bn to the South Wales economy in salaries and incentives, sold almost 17 million insurance policies in the UK and won more than 100 awards for being a good employer worldwide.

At the heart of Admiral’s success are its employees, and since the company floated, the company has awarded more than 28.5 million shares to employees within its share plans. Of these over 19.5 million have reached maturity and actually passed into the hands of staff members – at today’s value that’s worth more than £380m.

CEO David Stevens said: “Twenty-five years! Wow. Back in January 1993 we had 57 members of staff, zero customers and not a lot of money in the bank. Ten years or so later, you could have bought the whole of Admiral for just under £800m. Now it would take a very substantial £5bn to buy all our shares.

“There have been so many highlights over the years but just in 2017, we have been named the 23rd best workplace in the world, we marked 10 years in the FTSE 100 and we’ve entered the travel insurance and personal loans markets.

“This would not have been possible without all the hard work put in by every member of staff across Admiral Group. From just 57 in 1993 to 9,000 now, I am so proud of what we’ve all achieved in the last 25 years. Here’s to the next 25!”

One of the biggest car insurers in the UK, Admiral now also offers van, home and travel insurance as well as personal loans and car finance. It also owns Confused.com, the UK’s first and longest-running price-comparison site. The Group has insurance operations in Spain, Italy, France and the United States, and price comparison sites in Spain, France, the United States and most recently Mexico. Its UK customers are also supported by operations in Halifax, Canada and Delhi, India.