Ardonagh management faces challenge in reversing Swinton's fortunes

Ardonagh’s management team faces a challenge to reverse Swinton’s fortunes, according to IMAS founder Olly Laughton-Scott.

Swinton’s EBITDA was last recorded at £30.6m, according to the IMAS and Insurance Times Top 50 Brokers, but that was a 30.5% decline on the previous year.

Swinton brokerage was also down 16.1% to £222.6m. The Manchester-based broker has endured a difficult spell of declining financial performance and closing shops over the last five years. 

Footfall has diminished at its high street offices, as customers head towards the internet – an area that Swinton has began to heavily invest in. 

But the challenge is now Ardonagh’s, after the David Ross-led outfit snapped up the business for £165m.

However, Laughton-Scott said that Ardonagh could increase profitability if it gets the formula right. 

Laughton-Scott said: ”What you are looking at is a business in retreat and the challenge is: can the new management reverse that trend?”

Asked about integrating the Towergate offices with the Swinton ones, he said: ”The Swinton offices are quite different from Towergate, and Towergate has been led by commercial. The personal lines that Towergate does do is very much from call centres, not high street branches.

”The question is whether there will be a radical solution. A fundamental retreat from the High Street to massively cut costs, while losing revenue, would increase potentially increase profitably.

”They are also almost as a private equity within a private equity house so that they are looking at business, not so much as a fit, but for opportunity.”