Jensten moves in for second deal this month

The Jensten Group has bought personal and commercial lines broker Advance Insurance Agencies for an undisclosed sum.

Advance, which has offices in, Chippenham, Swindon, Westbury, and Trowbridge, presently handles £16m gross written premium (GWP) and has 82 staff.

The deal is the second this year for Jensten which has developed a buy and build strategy focusing on expanding its specialist capability. Earlier this month it acquired Packetts.

Hub
Jensten detailed that, in addition to commercial lines activity, the acquisition brings expertise in sourcing specialist motor product solutions for niche customers, working with price comparison websites and online and offline lead generation.

Advance will form a centre of excellence for specialist personal lines within the group, enabling it to offer an expanded service to clients of its Coversure franchises and its wholly owned broking operation.

The Advance brand will be retained in line with Jensten’s integration model. Matt Jones, presently business development manager, will become managing director, and take over the day-to-day running of the business from Clive Woods who will move into a consultancy role for a transitional period. Director Sam Woods is retiring.

Ambition
Jensten currently controls around £245m GWP and has a publicly stated ambition to reach £500m within the next three to five years. Alistair Hardie, who joined as CEO in 2020, told Insurance Age earlier this month that the business was looking to accelerate its M&A activity in 2021 as it moves towards the £500m GWP goal.

Of today’s (25 February 2021) deal he said: “Adding Advance to the Jensten family is not only about supporting the continued growth of a strong local broking business, but also enables us to add new capabilities that further enhance our specialist insurance market appetite.  

“Clive and Sam have built a fantastic business and their niche orientation fits neatly with our strategic direction. I am excited about how we can take their lead generation expertise and apply it across our group to drive further organic growth in Jensten brokers and our Coversure franchise network.” 

Approach
Clive Woods commented: “We were attracted to Jensten by the pragmatic and efficient approach of the M&A team, the strong cultural overlap and their innovative and unique approach to buying brokerages.

“I have no doubt the clients, staff and business as a whole will flourish under Jensten’s ownership and look forward to working with the Jensten team to take the business we have proudly built to the next level.”

Advance is the fourth acquisition as part of the specialist broking and insurance group’s build and buy strategy. In addition to Packetts it has also bought Derbyshire-based professional indemnity specialist HTC Associates and Lloyd’s and London market wholesale broker Senior Wright.

Hardie added: “This acquisition, the second this month, demonstrates how compelling our alternative model and flexible proposition is proving to UK brokers. We are at an advanced stage to acquire a number of brokers over the coming months and see a clear appetite from brokers looking to find new investors and protect their hard-earned legacy.”

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