Alistair Hardie, Group CEO talks to Insurance Post about the M&A environment and the things brokers need to consider when selling their business.
Acquisitions
Jensten is a compelling choice for brokers considering a sale. Our clarity of focus on clients, people and sustainable growth is central to the way in which we run our business, the acquisition process, and the onboarding journey. We acquire businesses that share these values, and which have built a culture focussed on providing high-quality advice and delivering outstanding client propositions.
After deciding it was time for the business to enter its next phase, Jensten quickly became the obvious choice when looking for a buyer. Their focus on our people and clients from the beginning and their track record of buying brokers in the right way gave us the confidence we were making the right decision.
Neil Grimshaw, MD, Ravenhall
Our retail broking division consists of regional, specialist and schemes centres of excellence. The businesses we buy have a regional or specialist focus – or a combination of both – and support SME, mid-market and corporate clients, or personal clients with bespoke and specialist needs.
Whether you could be our next regional centre of excellence hub, the start of a new specialism or a more modest satellite office for an existing region or specialism, we would welcome a conversation.
As we approached retirement, we wanted to sell to a business who would continue to prioritise our clients and staff and recognise the value of our heritage and specialisms. Throughout the process, Jensten demonstrated their focus on all the core things that matter to us, and so were the obvious choice as the business moves into its next phase.
Peter Sutcliffe, MD, J Bennett & Son Insurance Brokers
The priorities of vendors and ongoing management sit at the heart of our deal structures and post-acquisition plans. Jensten is well funded and has a number of innovative structuring approaches that create long-term alignment for the continuing management team. Our business is structured to support and accelerate further growth, both organic and through acquisition.
Jensten focussed on the two most important areas of our business right from the beginning – our clients and our staff. We had various opportunities to consider elsewhere but it was clear that our shared ethos would make this transition a success. After significant sustained growth for many years, we needed to find a powerful partner to develop our service offering both in the UK and in Europe and we are very excited about the opportunities that Jensten will provide to us.
Greg Wildman, MD, Basil Fry
Our people are nurtured, supported, and developed, ensuring they can provide a quality client experience while feeling valued within their roles. Our experience is that incoming management may have wider ambitions, and we encourage people to pursue those at Jensten.
Having reviewed the usual network of buyers, it was clear to us very early on that Jensten was the right home for our clients and our staff. They share our customer-centric focus and wider ambitions for organic and acquisitive growth. We are very excited about the opportunities for the future and look forward to working with our new colleagues as a member of the Jensten family.
Rob Creedon & Matthew West, MD’s, Bellegrove Insurance
More than 15 regional and specialist broking and underwriting businesses have chosen to join the Jensten family in the last two years.
We shortlisted our potential buyers by asking ourselves “do we trust these people to look after our clients and our colleagues?”. The Jensten team invested time and effort to make us confident they would. We know we made the right choice.
Marshall Sugden, MD, Packetts
If you’re considering a sale and would like to explore acquisitions opportunities with the Jensten Group, then please get in touch with one of our leadership team.