Insurer Ardonagh agrees to buy Swinton brand in £165m deal
Ardonagh, the UK’s largest independent insurance broker, has announced a £165m deal to buy specialist insurance firm Swinton from a French rival.
It will sell some of Swinton’s assets to fund its bid to take over the group, which has existed since 1957 and has a focus on motor and home insurance. It intends to maintain the Swinton name, rather than merge it with existing brands.
Ardonagh chief executive David Ross said: “We absolutely believe that the Swinton name is the missing piece in our offering between the extraordinary array of products we offer to customers.”
Swinton, which is owned by France-based Covéa, has 1,550 employees, and more than 1m customers. In 2017, it reported turnover of £168m. Ardonagh already has over 100 office locations and a workforce with more than 5,500 employees.
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In a statement, Covéa said: “Through the sale of Swinton, Covéa will focus its UK activities on underwriting, more closely aligning the UK business model with that of its operations in France and globally.”
Covea chief executive Gilles Normand said the sale “will help Swinton achieve its long-term goal of becoming the UK’s leading digital insurance broker”.