Jardine Lloyd Thompson has acquired HWS Holdings along with its two Lloyd’s subsidiaries.
The deal will see JLT take on the Lloyds broker Harman Wicks & Swayne Limited as well as Harman Wicks & Swayne International Limited, a wholesale provider of SME insurance products to the UK broker marketplace.
HWS's reinsurance broking business will be combined with JLT's existing non-marine treaty operation and will trade as part of JLT Re.
The UK wholesale business will be integrated within JLT's UK insurance broking business.
HWS is being purchased from its shareholders, which consist wholly of its management for an initial payment of £5m and a deferred element up to a maximum of £3.75m. The deferred element is based on the future performance of the business. In 2007, HWS reinsurance revenue was approximately £4.8m and the HWS UK broking revenue was £1.2m.
Chris Harman and Ian Wicks, the founders of HWS, together with Bradley Maltese, will join JLT Re as members of the Reinsurance Executive Group. Chris Harman will become the Deputy Chairman. Bradley Maltese will head up the JLT Re Non-Marine Treaty team in London.
Chris Harman said "We are very excited about joining a company with such an excellent reputation as JLT and being part of a larger group. It will give us the increased international reach and greater resources, particularly in the area of modelling and actuarial capabilities, to enhance our ability to offer our client base the advice and service that has always been our hallmark. The account handled by HWS fits extremely well with that of JLT Re, with minimal overlap, and the combined business will create a significant force in the reinsurance market.”
Commenting on the acquisition Alan Griffin, Chairman and CEO of JLT Reinsurance Brokers Limited said:
"We are delighted to have acquired HWS, a company with an outstanding reputation for client retention through dedicated service and product innovation. HWS brings scale and leadership to our London based Non-Marine Treaty operation complementing our traditional strengths in Marine, Energy and Aviation.”
