PIB Group buys property broker to mark 30th acquisition

Broker PIB Group has confirmed its 30^th acquisition with the purchase of specialist residential and commercial property owners insurance broker UKinsuranceNET.

Based in Stockton on Tees, UKinsuranceNET – the trading name for Internet Insurance Services UK Limited – was established in 2001 as an independent broker, offering landlords’ insurance products.

The business has since grown to now specialise in providing insurance solutions for residential and commercial property owners, including landlords, multi-occupancy homes, Airbnb, unoccupied property, holiday homes and properties undergoing renovation.

Following the completion of the deal, UKinsuranceNET’s 51 employees will all remain with the business, including managing director Suzanne Eeles.

The company’s founder and former managing director Steve Bradley will provide additional support to the team on a consultancy basis.

Brendan McManus, chief executive at PIB Group, said: “I’m delighted to welcome everyone at UKinsuranceNET.

”They’re another great fit for PIB because of their specialist focus and online capabilities, as well as their brilliant customer service levels. They are a fantastic business which will further strengthen our property portfolio.

“I have also been particularly impressed by their continued growth in the last few months despite the challenges of the current climate, and I look forward to seeing further success with PIB’s investment and support.”

Eeles added: “After 20 years as a successful independent broker, we wanted to push ourselves to the next stage. We are very excited to be joining PIB Group with a clear focus to accelerate long-term, sustainable growth.

“We were impressed by the resources that PIB can make available to us and the opportunities this presents by developing our relationships with the other businesses in the group. Our main focus will be on continued growth and, as part of PIB, we also remain committed to our current distribution channels and the range of products we currently offer to our customers.”

Broad pipeline

This latest purchase is PIB Group’s 30^th – the broker said it expects to close more deals this year as part of its “ambitious” 10-year growth strategy, which is centred around acquiring niche and specialty businesses within the UK retail and wholesale markets.

Just six weeks ago, for example, PIB Group confirmed its first foray into international waters with the purchase of Marx Re, a brokerage based in Germany.

McManus said: “We have several acquisitions in due diligence at the moment and we are working hard to understand the impact of the coronavirus on these businesses, undertaking all the normal diligence work to make sure that we’re protected.

“The pandemic is also producing a pipeline of new deals as we’ve been contacted by people who want to sell their business and that may provide an opportunity for us. We’re a buy and build model, so we’ll continue to focus on acquisitions as much as we can.”