The Jensten Group has acquired Simpson and Parsons for an undisclosed amount. The deal, which has received regulatory approval, will see the business become Jensten’s Northern regional centre of excellence – the business’ sixth regional centre – servicing clients across Cumbria and the North.
The Lake District-based broker has offices in Windermere and Kendal and will bring more than 20 staff and £9m GWP to the Group. With the local economy relying heavily on tourism, Simpson & Parsons has established itself as the broker of choice for accommodation and hospitality businesses in the region. Using its in-depth understanding of client needs across the sector, the business has developed specialist products for hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, holiday homes and restaurants through its MGA, InsureUK.
The approach taken by Simpson and Parsons mirrors Jensten’s strategy of leveraging a deep understanding of client needs and underwriting capability to create specialist products, manufactured by Jensten Underwriting and distributed through Jensten’s retail broking operation, which consists of the Jensten Insurance Brokers division and its network proposition, Cover-sure. The model provides the business with a differentiated proposition which delivers real value to clients and provides a stable base from which to achieve further organic growth.
Tim Parsons, CEO Simpson & Parsons will remain with the business as Regional Managing Director, Northern Region, reporting into Robin Thomson, MD Jensten Insurance Brokers. Commenting on the deal, Tim said: “With Jensten, we’re joining a business where our established regional presence and focus on delivering great solutions for our specialist groups of clients is valued and seen as important. From the beginning it was clear to us that Jensten were the right people to partner with; their focus on our people, the cultural fit, and the part we’d play in the wider strategy to grow, gave us the confidence that joining the Jensten family was a fantastic next step for the business.”
Alistair Hardie, Jensten’s CEO commented: “Simpson and Parsons gives us an additional regional centre of excellence as we focus on building a connected broker of scale. Our centres of excellence, whether regional or specialist, allow us to get close to our different client groups, building a comprehensive understanding of their needs. Having extensive underwriting and product capability as an integral part of our strategy means we are benefitting from our ability to build and distribute market-leading client propositions.”
