The deal valued at around A$432m (£219m) sees AUB acquire a 95.9% stake in Prestige Insurance, a group founded in 1973 that operates a portfolio of well-known broking brands
Australian insurance group AUB Group has completed its acquisition of Northern Ireland-headquartered Prestige Insurance Holdings, marking a major expansion of its presence in the UK retail insurance market.
The deal valued at around A$432m (£219m) sees AUB acquire a 95.1% stake in Prestige Insurance, a group founded in 1973 that operates a portfolio of well-known broking brands including AbbeyAutoline, Find Insurance NI, Open and Direct, and Bond Lovis.
Under the terms of the agreement, Prestige will become AUB Group’s flagship UK retail broking platform, forming a central part of the Australian firm’s strategy to accelerate growth in the UK and Irish insurance markets.
Headquartered in Belfast, Prestige Insurance employs around 650 people across the UK and Ireland and operates a network of 18 branches. Its broking businesses generate more than £170 million in gross written premium, while its specialist managing general agents contribute a further £140 million. The group also operates insurance technology platform Covernet, which supports more than £330 million in premium for insurers and managing general agents.
Despite the change in ownership, Prestige will continue to operate as a standalone organisation, covering broking, underwriting and insurtech, under the leadership of chief executive Trevor Shaw.
Commenting on the deal, Mr Shaw said the partnership marked a “landmark moment” for the business.
“With six decades in the industry, we have built a leading insurance group across broking, underwriting, and insurtech, firmly rooted across the UK and Ireland,” he explained.
“Partnering with AUB Group gives us an exceptional platform to accelerate our growth, invest further in our people and services, and expand our presence across our current markets, while retaining the independence and culture that have been central to our success. Our commitment to our customers, partners and stakeholders remains unchanged.”
AUB Group chief executive and managing director Mike Emmett said the acquisition was a major step in delivering the firm’s UK strategy: “Our acquisition of Prestige Insurance represents a major step forward in the execution of our UK strategy. Prestige Insurance brings a powerful combination of retail broking strength, specialist underwriting capability and leading insurance technology—exactly the platform required to scale meaningful growth and build on our existing capability in one of the world’s most significant insurance markets
“By combining AUB’s proven broking and MGA operating model with Prestige Insurance’s established brands, leadership and distribution footprint, we are creating a strong, future focused retail platform for the UK. The planned integration of our Tysers Retail portfolios into Prestige Insurance will further reinforce this foundation, extend the breadth of solutions we can offer brokers and clients and deliver value to our shareholders.
“Prestige comes with a high quality management team. We greatly value the expertise Trevor and the senior leadership team bring, and we look forward to working closely with them across Broking, Underwriting and InsurTech as the Group continues to implement our strategy for growth. With this partnership, AUB is strongly positioned to support Prestige Insurance in delivering on its longterm strategic ambitions across the UK and Ireland.”
Advisers on the transaction included Continuum Advisory Partners, Carson McDowell, and EY for Prestige, while AUB Group was advised by Deloitte and Pinsent Masons.
