The combined business is expected to have over £4bn in GWP with 1.5 million clients, operating from more than 100 offices
Howden acquires UK-based insurance agency. (Credit: Pixabay/Tumisu.)
Howden, an insurance broking company, has agreed to acquire A-Plan Group, a UK-based insurance broker, for an undisclosed amount.
Established in 1963 in Oxford, A-Plan Group is a provider of a wide range of personal and commercial insurance products.
Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to form an insurance brokerage managing more than £4bn in gross written premiums for 1.5 million clients, operating from over 100 offices.
The deal will combine Howden’s speciality and reinsurance business and A-Plan Group’s personal and commercial lines expertise, delivered through its brands such as A-Plan and Endsleigh.
The deal will allow Howden’s parent firm Hyperion to become fifth-largest business in UK
Through the transaction, Howden’s parent company Hyperion is also expected to become the fifth-largest business in the UK, with more than 8,000 employees, including 4,500 staff in Britain.
As part of the deal, Carl Shuker will continue to lead A-Plan Group as CEO, reporting to Howden Broking Group CEO José Manuel González.
Chris Evans will become chairman of A-Plan Group in addition to his role as deputy CEO of Howden UK.
A-Plan Group chairman Max Carruthers will continue to support the business following the completion of the deal.
Hyperion Insurance Group CEO David Howden said: “I am thrilled that Carl and his team have chosen to join Howden as the place to deliver their ambitious growth plans in the UK.
“Like us, A-Plan Group is a business built on a very strong culture of entrepreneurship with employee ownership at its heart and a relentless client focus.
“These values have ensured that over a period of more than 50 years it has been able to retain and win new clients by delivering to them the personal service they want whilst embracing the opportunities digital distribution, data and technology provide.
“Our combined groups will be a natural home for talent and entrepreneurs seeking a place to deliver the very best for their clients.”
Howden said that the acquisition will broaden its retail distribution and specialist product capabilities in the UK while leveraging A-Plan’s distribution model.
A-Plan Group CEO Carl Shuker said: “The markets that Howden and A-Plan serve are highly complementary, and our ever-growing regional client reach and access will deliver considerable growth opportunity for the combined Group, and to our existing insurer partners.
“Being part of an entrepreneurial, international Group, is a really exciting next step for us, and we look forward to contributing to the delivery of Howden’s much wider ambitions.”