Howden to acquire solicitors’ professional indemnity broker

Independent broker Howden has confirmed its plans to buy St Giles Legal and Professional Risks, a professional indemnity insurance broker that specialises in the UK solicitor sector.

The deal aims to further establish Howden as a leading broker within this market and will bring the number of UK law firms it represents for professional indemnity cover up to 1,000.

Speaking on the acquisition, Mark Westgarth, managing director for UK regions at Howden Broking, said: “St Giles is a highly regarded and specialist broker of professional indemnity insurance. We are delighted to be bringing our talents together for the long-term benefit of our collective client base.

“We can offer greater scale and a depth of expertise that, combined with the experts at St Giles, will deliver better solutions for our mutual clients, in what are currently very challenging market conditions for them. We always strive to be part of the solution to tough challenges and our investment in additional expertise again demonstrates our strong and long-term commitment to the UK legal sector.

“St Giles is a company that we at Howden have known for many years. As is so often the case with our acquisitions, we buy companies with whom we have a long history and have built up trust and respect.”

St Giles’s senior directors Mark Thomsen and Simon Gale will join Howden’s 300-strong financial lines group. Fellow director Malcolm Gordon, on the other hand, will provide consultancy support.

Thomsen added: “Simon and I are delighted to be joining Howden, which is a well-respected leader in the professional indemnity market. We know this is in the best interests of our clients and we are pleased to be joining such an experienced team.”