Gallagher, Bridge and Beaumont swooped for Oxygen’s assets
Gallagher paid £1.35m for Oxygen’s London-based 20-staff strong specialist broking team in August last year, according to Oxygen’s latest annual report.
Gallagher-owned Heath Lambert then moved in to pick up Oxygen’s Leeds and Ipswich-based corporate risks teams for £541,355 in December last year, the Companies House report reveals.
Gallagher swooped on Oxygen at a time when the holding company was struggling and a decision had been made to sell up, the report says.
Oxygen Insurance Brokers Limited’s 2011 annual report said: “Despite the companies’ successes in both developing businesses from scratch and acquiring businesses, concerned that the wider Oxygen Holdings group’s financial condition was not sufficiently robust to withstand the forecast very difficult short/medium term trading environment for insurance brokers, the directors decided in the early part of 2011 to seek a buyer for the company.”
Oxygen Insurance Brokers’ continuing operations made a £126,412 operating loss on a turnover of £6.5m in 2010.
A sale of part of the business in 2010 pulled in £146,391 for Oxygen Insurance Brokers, paving the way for a £95,229 pre-tax profit for the year.
The £1.6m made on the sales to Gallagher in 2011 helped Oxygen Insurance Brokers make a £582,943 pre-tax profit for the year.
Oxygen Insurance Brokers had shareholders’ equity of £4m in 2010 and £3m in 2011.
The report reveals that Bridge Insurance Brokers Limited picked up Oxygen’s two-man infrastructure team in March this year.
Beaumonant Insurance Brokers bought the affinity business of Oxgyen.
Oxygen Insurance Brokers is a subsidary of Oxygen Holdings.
No comments yet