Gallagher may not have bagged a bargain, but Heath is full of valuable people Collosso must work hard to keep
Did Gallagher get Heath on the cheap? No, in a word. There’s been a bit of chatter that Gallagher got Heath for a bargain, but taking a closer look at the figures, I would disagree.
Adjusted EBITDA was £14.5m, according to today’s released accounts, and the final price paid was £97m.
That means there’s a 6.7x earnings ratio, and yes it’s all a bit rule of thumb, but it broadly shows that a fair price was struck according to market valuations.
It also shows that when two determined men come together, this time Heath chief executive Adrian Colosso and Gallagher International boss David Ross, a fair price can still be struck. The big question now is: can they work together?
Heath's silent heroes
Another big question that still lingers is over the Heath staff and the level of morale.
There’s anecdotal evidence that rivals have seen many Heath CVs land on their desks during the turbulent takeover period.
If they haven’t already done so, Ross or Colosso should act quickly to reassure them about their future and their valuable contribution to the firm.
The accounts reveal that broking profit was up from £13.8m to £13.9m, that’s a not bad at all considering the soft rates and challenging economy.
It shows that beneath the intense market gossip over the company’s future, there were some good people working at Heath who had quietly gone about their business diligently.
Some of them may not have been rewarded in the deal, but really, they are the silent heroes in securing this company’s future.
Rates? You tell me …
Omega says rates are on the rise. Hiscox’s highly-rated chief executive Bronek Masojada says hes not so sure, and it will need another $10bn (£6.2bn) in market losses from the up-and-coming hurricane season to affect losses.
It just shows how split market opinion is over rate rises. The trust is, nobody really knows.
Saxon East is assistant editor, news.
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