Partners& adds to employee benefits proposition with buy and partnership

Partners& has bought Direct Healthline for an undisclosed sum and revealed a strategic partnership with Advo Group as it moved to expand its benefits business.

Royal Wootton Bassett-based Direct Healthline, led by Isobel Skeates, offers consultancy across the full spectrum of health, protection and wellbeing benefits. According to Partners& it has a strong reputation in the corporate benefits marketplace.

Partners& confirmed that all of the team will move across and report to Marcia Reid, managing partner of wellbeing, engagement and benefits.

Advo Group has its head office in Kent and branches in Oxford, Newhaven and Stockport. The firm provides an outsourced payroll and HR service as well as Financial Conduct Authority regulated reviews, advice and recommendations across a suite of employee benefits including health, risk, well-being and lifestyle benefits, Partners& listed.

Under the partnership, Partners& will take responsibility for servicing Advo’s larger corporate clients while the business focuses on the needs of SME clients.

Partners&, which launched in 2020 and had grown to £125m of gross written premium by the middle of last year, also snapped up Coventry-based employee benefits adviser Health Matters last December.

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Phil Barton, Partners& CEO, (pictured) said: “We are very pleased to welcome clients and colleagues from Direct Healthline and Advo Group to Partners&. It’s another great move, as we continue to build our employee benefits proposition.”

Adding: “As we head into 2022 with headlines talking about ‘The Great Resignation’, now more than ever, employers need to ensure their employees are happy and healthy in their jobs.

“Having a robust employee benefits programme in place will help firms achieve their employee retention goals. With our increasing number of employee benefits experts, we are perfectly placed to deliver for companies who need our experience and advice.”

Direct Healthline director, Richard Skeates said: “From the day we first met Phil we knew this was the right move for us, and the way the Partners& team has built trust and understanding has only reaffirmed that view.

“Partners& has a great proposition for clients and a culture that resonates with ours. I speak for our whole team when I say we are looking forward to this next adventure and to great success in the future.”

And Larry Bulmer, CEO of Advo, commented: “We believe Partners& to be a forward-thinking advisory business that shares many cultural similarities with us and possesses an array of capabilities that are in line with the longer-term requirements of larger, corporate clients. We are confident that Partners& can deliver the advice and service they need and deserve today and, in the years ahead.”

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