Stephen Catlin, the founder and CEO of Lloyd’s insurer Catlin, has been named the Ernst & Young UK Entrepreneur of the Year.

Mr Catlin, who visited Australia earlier this year and was interviewed by Insurance News (the magazine), won the award for turning a two-person start-up with £25,000 ($39,822) of capital and the same amount of loans into a company with a turnover of £2.6 billion ($4.1 billion) operating in 22 countries and employing more than 1600 staff over a period of 27 years.

The award judges praised Mr Catlin for helping the company grow organically and globally through nurturing expert talent, and for breaking new ground by setting up operations outside the Lloyd’s market.

Mr Catlin won the award in competition with 42 other UK business leaders, and will now compete globally with more than 50 other country finalists at the Ernst & Young world entrepreneur of the year awards in Monte Carlo next year.