Walker Love, a third-generation family business established in 1946, is a firm of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers. Following a series of strategic acquisitions, the business has gone on to become a nationwide market leader with six offices throughout Scotland.
The Challenge
No-one wants to hear the words “We’ve had a flood.”
Unfortunately, those are exactly the words Willie Dolier, a partner at Walker Love, telephoned to say to Blackford client director Alan Grant late one evening.
The business, a firm of Sheriff Officers and Messengers-at-Arms with a professional investigations department, had discovered a serious flood at its Glasgow office. As if water pouring into the office wasn’t disruptive enough, it took place during the demanding and complex process of seeking ISO27001 accreditation for information security.
After almost 80 years in business, Walker Love has faced many challenges. Technological advances have changed the way business is done, not to mention the recent impact of a global pandemic and the myriad of other hurdles any business might expect to face over the course of nearly eight decades.
Clearly the third-generation family business is doing something right, having grown to become the largest privately-owned firm of Sheriff Officers and Messengers-at-Arms in Scotland, with 150 people helping recover debt, enforce court orders, undertake investigations and tracing from six offices.
While a major flood would be a test for most businesses. It’s at these times the right insurance partner can make a horrible situation slightly more bearable.
The Solution
Blackford was able to work with Walker Love’s insurer to help the business quickly and smoothly arranging for loss prevention and cleanup teams to be onsite, assisting in the transition of its Glasgow operations into offsite premises while flood repairs were underway.
This allowed the Walker Love team to continue preparing for its ISO27001 audit, and ultimately being awarded the certification.
Walker Love runs a fleet of vehicles which allow it to fulfil its clients’ instruction, in sectors including the Scottish Courts, central government, legal and financial services, local authorities, housing and utilities. Any incidents are resolved quickly by the Blackford claims team, and the broking team makes sure each annual renewal is placed with the insurer who best meets their client’s needs.
The team also helped keep Walker Love properly covered when it chose to sub-let its Kilmarnock office after moving its operation elsewhere in the business, by transitioning from occupier to landlord insurance and making sure it was in place before the tenant moved in.
Prior to renewal every year, Blackford works with Walker Love to review its policies, look at existing and potential new risks, and make sure everything is properly protected.
“The way they work fits our own philosophy of working in partnership and the value we place on long-term relationships. I’ve spoken to some of the wider team at Blackford’s offices and there’s a very similar ethos to ours which works very well. I’d recommend them to anyone.”
What The Client Said
“The team at Blackford understand our business and our needs, making sure we’re very, very well looked after. Quite often they’ll pre-empt what we need, or they’ve already taken care of things before we speak to them.
“Having them there to look after us is invaluable, and we trust them to keep us right. Insurance seldom gets any cheaper but we know we’re getting the right advice and the best levels of cover to make sure we’re protected if anything does happen.
“The way they work fits our own philosophy of working in partnership and the value we place on long-term relationships. I’ve spoken to some of the wider team at Blackford’s offices and there’s a very similar ethos to ours which works very well. I’d recommend them to anyone.”
