A-Plan
Liberty is pleased to announce the secondary Buyout of A-Plan Insurance backed by HgCapital.
Founded in 1963, Oxfordshire based A-Plan provides products from a wide range of insurers, including SME commercial, motor and home, and high net worth insurance. The Company currently operates 73 branches nationwide, and serves over 580,000 policyholders.
Equistone backed the management team in a primary buyout in 2008, and since then the company has realised strong growth, increasing revenues from £44m in 2008 to around £73m for the financial year ending February 2015, opening 19 new branches and increasing headcount by 380 to over 970 employees.
Liberty provided advice to the management team, led by Carl Shuker CEO.
Carl Shuker, Chief Executive Officer at A-Plan, said:
“We have enjoyed considerable growth over the last six years, with new branch openings and the development of specialist insurance lines. We have really appreciated our partnership with Equistone, who have been proactively supportive of our growth and investment objectives."
"We are very excited about the next chapter in A-Plan’s growth and look forward to working with HgCapital as we continue to expand our national footprint and embark on the next phase of delivering A-Plan’s leading levels of service to a larger number of clients. On a day to day basis, it's very much business as usual for our clients, staff and insurer partners.”
Andrew Land, Partner at HgCapital commented:
"We are delighted to be backing Carl and his team in this transaction and will endeavour to support the business as it continues to pursue its growth strategy. With its high levels of recurring revenue and customer retention, alongside impressive customer advocacy, we have been hugely impressed by the quality of A-Plan's service offering; we see great potential in further developing its branch network and specialist lines. Insurance distribution has been a key area of sector focus for us, and we believe we have invested in a true industry champion through this transaction."
Completion of the transaction remains subject to FCA approval.