Aston Lark buys Braddons

Aston Lark, currently backed by Goldman Sachs but soon to become part of Howden, has added specialist broker Braddons to its portfolio.

Established in 1994 by Steve and Catherine Solly, the business has focused on the construction and real estate sectors, growing from the privatisation of British Rail infrastructure and expansion of private finance initiative projects into schools, universities, the NHS and local authorities.

Braddons has since diversified into other niche sectors including recruitment, energy, transportation, life sciences, clinical negligence, fintech and financial institutions.

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Peter Blanc, Aston Lark group CEO, said: “We are delighted that the Braddons team has chosen Aston Lark as their natural home. As our group continues to expand, our strength and breadth of capabilities in specialist corporate insurance and risk management gets ever stronger and this will be further enhanced when we become part of Howden.

“Braddons is a fabulous addition to the group, and we look forward to working closely with the team to continue to deliver the exceptional service standard their clients are accustomed to.”

Steve Solly, managing director at Braddons, commented: “Our strength is in the much-valued relationships we have with specialist underwriters, where we can bring together the skills and appetite of the insurance market to meet the needs and requirements of our clients.

“We place challenging and highly complex risks into the London insurance market. Evolving changes brought about by Brexit and continuous development of new specialist underwriting entities creates a need for us to seek a broader capability to ensure we maintain our ability to deliver solutions that offer the best outcome for our clients.”

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He added: “For two years we have sought a broking firm that can provide the additional strength to our business, with an excellent reputation for commitment to clients, a high regard within the insurance market, and professional resource to assist us to successfully meet our commitments.

“It is imperative to Catherine and me that the company’s ability to service clients remains uncompromised and at the centre of our business. We have very fortunately found that ethos and resource with Aston Lark and Howden, and all of us at Braddons look forward enormously to working with our new colleagues.”

Last year, it was announced that Aston Lark would become part of the Howden Group alongside A-Plan.

At the time of the deal, Blanc said he was keen to continue on the acquisition trail and committed to doubling Aston Lark business for Howden once the deal is complete.

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