Transactions

Liberty Corporate Finance (“Liberty”) advised the management team of A-Plan, one of the UK’s largest personal and commercial lines insurance brokers, on their acquisition by Howden, subject to regulatory approval.

The deal will create one of the UK’s largest insurance brokers managing over £4bn of gross written premium for 1.5 million clients, and operating from more than 100 locations. Howden’s parent company, Hyperion, will become the fifth largest employee-owned business headquartered in the UK with over 8,000 employees, including 4,500 in the UK.

The new partnership will bring together Howden’s leading specialty and reinsurance business and A-Plan Group’s best-in-class personal and commercial lines expertise, which it delivers via its established brands including A-Plan and Endsleigh.

Carl Shuker, CEO of A-Plan Group, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Howden; it was instantly evident from the start of our discussions that we were very aligned on the central importance of people, clients and insurers, and that we would make for a very natural fit.

Our track record of sustainable growth is something that we are very proud of, and we have huge ambition to take the A-Plan Group and brands to the next level, without diluting any of the values that have got us to where we are today. Carl Shuker

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.”