Howden to buy A-Plan Group as it aims to expand its retail broking reach

Howden is snapping up A-Plan Group, which, if approved, would create a broking business managing more than £4bn in GWP.

Howden, which is part of the employee-owned Hyperion Group is aiming to expand its retail distribution and specialist product offering via the acquisition, which will also encompass Endsleigh.

Howden said the merger would see the combined group managing 1.5m clients, operating from 100 locations.

A-Plan chief executive Carl Shuker would continue in his role, reporting to Howden’s chief executive José Manuel González. Chris Evans will be chairman of A-Plan Group, as well as continuing as deputy chief executive of Howden.

”This personal, service-oriented approach, delivered through its office network and digital and online channels, and backed-up by industry-leading data and analytics, has led to very high levels of customer satisfaction, driving high retention rates and low customer acquisition costs, alongside strong organic growth,” Howden said.

”For A-Plan Group, Howden is a long-term entrepreneurial home with complementary capabilities and culture, and clear ambitions to be the scale independent challenger broker.”

Partnership

Commenting on the deal, Hyperion Insurance Group chief executive David Howden said he was ”thrilled that Carl and his team have chosen to join Howden as the place to deliver their ambitious growth plans in the UK” 

“This is an incredibly important partnership for Howden and creates a significant opportunity to deliver a better and broader offering to both groups’ clients.

”Like us, A-Plan Group is a business built on a very strong culture of entrepreneurship with employee ownership at its heart and a relentless client focus.

”These values have ensured that over a period of more than 50 years it has been able to retain and win new clients by delivering to them the personal service they want whilst embracing the opportunities digital distribution, data and technology provide. 

“Our combined groups will be a natural home for talent and entrepreneurs seeking a place to deliver the very best for their clients.”

Shuker said ”it was instantly evident from the start of our discussions that we were very aligned on the central importance of people, clients and insurers, and that we would make for a very natural fit”.

“Our track record of sustainable growth is something that we are very proud of, and we have huge ambition to take the A-Plan Group and brands to the next level, without diluting any of the values that have got us to where we are today.”

The A-Plan chief said the markets that both businesses serve are “highly complementary”, with “considerable growth opportunity” for both the combined business and insurer partners.