News

Seventeen Group are pleased to announce our latest acquisition, Midlands based Gen2 Broking, led by Jon Nottingham, Paul Masters and Paul Dudley.

Gen2 controls £5M GWP and has focused on corporate clients in the Midlands region and beyond.

Seventeen Group CEO Paul Anscombe comments: “Seventeen Group has known Jon Nottingham for many years and sees Gen2 as a very natural fit. We will be building our presence in the Midlands in the years ahead using Gen2 to create a central ‘hub’. The business will be rebranding to James Hallam in due course.

Commenting on the deal Jon Nottingham adds “Building a business over the past 6 years has been uniquely challenging, but we remain committed to genuine independent broking and as such Seventeen Group is a perfect fit for us culturally, and somewhere we will enjoy being part of. Knowing Paul and the team for so many years, naturally makes this a much easier transition.”

End of Press Release

For more information contact
Jackie Knight Head of Marketing and Media
T: 07824 486319
E: jackie.knight@seventeengroup.co.uk

Seventeen Group has acquired East Pennine Insurance Consultants (EPIC) which trades as Fletcher Smith in Sheffield and North East Insurance Brokers in the North East.

The business was originally formed in 1985 and controls £6.1M GWP. There are 9 staff in total, including Directors Steve Brooke and Simon Walton.

EPIC has a strong presence in the motor trade sector and so will become a ‘centre of excellence’ within the Group for this class of business as well as developing wider opportunities for James Hallam and Seventeen Group in the North.

Seventeen Group CEO Paul Anscombe adds: “I am pleased to welcome the EPIC team. This is our first acquisition in Yorkshire and so represents a huge opportunity to build our presence going forward. We have achieved significant success in developing other regional businesses across the UK and EPIC creates additional value through its extensive motor trade knowledge and experience”

End of Press Release

For more information contact
Jackie Knight Head of Marketing and Media
T: 07824 486319
E: jackie.knight@seventeengroup.co.uk

Seventeen Group are pleased to announce the completion of two acquisitions this month.

Firstly, we have acquired Wisemans Insurance Services Limited based in Ashford Surrey. This is a general broker employing 9 staff and handling total premiums of £3.5M. The vendors have been known to Seventeen for many years and both parties felt strongly that there would be a good fit. Previously Seventeen have had no presence in West London and so our plan is to retain the Ashford
office and build the branch.

Secondly, we have acquired one of our Partnership Brokers – North West Risk Solutions based in Manchester. The team are strong on real estate and construction and so much of the business will fall within James Hallam’s Real Estate & Construction Division whilst MD Peter Stevenson will be a
great ambassador for the business in his role as business developer.

Seventeen Group CEO Paul Anscombe adds “we are delighted to welcome our new colleagues into the Group. This has not only extended our regional footprint but brought some great talent into our business”.

End of Press Release

For more information contact
Jackie Knight Head of Marketing and Media
T: 07824 486319
E: jackie.knight@seventeengroup.co.uk

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) is transforming, moving its services to a new cloud-based platform called Navigate. Link here – Replatforming (mib.org.uk)

The first service to migrate is the Motor Insurance Database (MID), with all customer data moving to the new platform by 29 April 2024.

Important

From 22 April, the MIB will reach out to all policyholders who access the MID, sharing a link so you can set up your account on the new platform. To help prevent accessibility issues, please watch out for the email.

You will need to review and update your MID contact information immediately and those with inactive or locked MID user accounts will not receive a link.

Launch weekend

The migration takes place between Friday 26 and Sunday 28 April which means you will not be able to update records until the following Monday when you log onto the new platform.

Changes to user IDs

During the migration process, only one user ID per email address will be carried over, prioritised in alphabetical order. Users with multiple IDs will need to create new ones for additional users, each associated with a unique email address.

Support for your policyholders

To help prepare users for the transition, the MIB has created online training resources including videos and guides:

Policyholder Quick Start Guide
Policyholder User Guide

If you have any questions, please speak to your usual James Hallam contact.

Seventeen Group is pleased to announce its third acquisition of the year, Watford based Jannard Quadrant.

The business was owned by Stephen Sweden and Geoff Callaway, both of whom will remain and eventually move into Seventeen Group’s existing Watford office along with the wider Jannard Quadrant team. Total GWP amounts to £3.5M, comprised mainly of commercial business and including a strong Hotel book. Jannard Quadrant have for many years been strong supporters of Seventeen Group’s MGA subsidiary, Touchstone Underwriting.

Seventeen Group CEO Paul Anscombe comments:

“This was a natural acquisition for both parties. We have known the Jannard Quadrant team for many years, we are both based in Watford and there is an excellent trading relationship with Touchstone. The focus on ‘top end’ hotels also fits incredibly well with James Hallam’s specialism in the hotel sector. I am delighted to welcome the team on board”

End of Press Release

For more information contact
Jackie Knight Head of Marketing and Media
T: 07824 486319
E: jackie.knight@seventeengroup.co.uk

Seventeen Group are pleased to announce the appointment of Roy Standish to the board of broking subsidiary James Hallam with effect from March 2024. Having joined the business in 2019, Standish originally oversaw James Hallam’s Partnership Broker programme before subsequently taking responsibility for Insurer Relationships. Going forward, he will retain these responsibilities but additionally assist on broker M&A as part of James Hallam’s growth strategy.

Speaking about this appointment, Seventeen Group Chief Executive Officer Paul Anscombe adds:

“Roy has been a great friend of Seventeen Group for many years. We were delighted to invite him into the business back in 2019 and now onto the Board. Having previously worked for a major insurer, Roy is uniquely placed to work with our strategic insurer partners to ensure the best outcomes for our clients”.

Roy commented “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the James Hallam Board and look forward to working with our Distribution Partners as well as new acquisition opportunities. It’s a really exciting time as we drive our refreshed Distribution strategy and continue to grow, organically and through acquisitions. I’m really proud to be part of the James Hallam business and helping to build a long term future as a truly independent, specialised regional broker.”

End of Press Release

For more information contact Jackie Knight Head of Marketing and Media
T: 07824 486319
E: jackie.knight@seventeengroup.co.uk

Seventeen Group is pleased to announce our 2022 results.

Overall Group income rose by 19% from £31.2M to £37.2M and adjusted EBITDA increased by 34% from £4.8M to £6.4M. Four acquisitions were made in 2022 and when the full year impact of these acquisitions are taken into account our EBITDA increases to £7.6M.

Whilst acquisitions have long been part of Seventeen Group’s growth strategy, organic growth remains key. The broking subsidiary, James Hallam, has seen the Hospitality Division grow from £2M to £2.6M in the period and the new Events Team (established in late 2021) grew to £628K.

Touchstone, the Group’s MGA established in 2007, saw further growth in 2022 increasing revenue from £5.7M to £6.1M. Gross Written Premium for Touchstone exceeded £50M.

To support our M&A strategy, in 2022 we established a new funding structure with Ares. Whilst one off costs associated with the setup of the facility impacted the annual result, it has given us significant additional long-term financial strength to enable us to deliver our growth ambitions.

Our acquisitions in 2022 were:

CCRS – Commercial broker based in Glasgow with specialisms in Public Sector and Vehicle Dismantlers alongside general corporate business.

Broker Scotland – A Real estate focused broker also based in Glasgow

Bryce Smith & Partners – A High net worth and real estate broker based in West London

Torbay Insurance services – a Torquay based broker which adds to our existing

South West presence in Plymouth and Penzance

Income from the above acquisitions added £1.2M in 2022 and £3.6M on an annualised basis.

Commenting on the results, Group CEO Paul Anscombe adds:

“I am very pleased with the progress that Seventeen Group continues to make in a fast changing market. We have focused strongly on the underlying performance of the business as well as investing in new opportunities and acquisitions.

Our successful strategy of acquiring complimentary, entrepreneurial businesses has continued in the current year with the acquisition of Aim Insurance Services, Mint Insurance Brokers, McGregor Insurance Services and Kestrel Insurance all joining the group. Further acquisitions are expected to complete in the coming months. Our brand, culture and scale continue to attract the highest quality of talent through both acquisition and key staff hires”.

Seventeen Group announce the appointment of Howard Fryer and Ajay Tailor to the Seventeen Group Limited board.

Howard Fryer joined Seventeen Group in 2015 and is the Chief Trading Officer of broking subsidiary James Hallam. He retains this role whilst also stepping up to the Group Board.

Ajay Tailor joined Seventeen Group early in 2023 in his role as Group Chief Financial Officer. In addition to his appointment to the Seventeen Group board, Ajay also joins the subsidiary boards of James Hallam and Touchstone Underwriting.

Group CEO Paul Anscombe comments:

I am delighted to welcome Howard and Ajay onto the Group board. Seventeen Group has significant growth plans in place and these appointments strengthen the business for the opportunities which lie ahead.

Seventeen Group has acquired Mint Insurance Brokers Limited, with the deal completing 3rd August.

Mint is a City of London based broker, established and led by Brian Bendle and Manjit Gill along with Director Oliver Wharmby, with a Total GWP of £13m.

The business places retail and wholesale business within the London Market and handles a broad range of clients. Specialisms include Professional Liability, Real Estate, Casualty/Contract Works and Medical Malpractice.

Mint has been an AR of Seventeen Group’s broking subsidiary James Hallam since 2020. Mint Managing Director, Brian Bendle comments:

“On behalf of the whole Mint team, Manjit and I are delighted to complete the transition from partner to division of such a vibrant and expanding Group with mutual benefit for both companies”.

Seventeen Group Chief Executive Paul Anscombe comments:

“Brian and Manjit have been known to us for many years and so this is a very natural progression of our relationship. The Mint team bring a huge amount of experience and relationships into the Group and will specifically help us build our London Market presence. Their specialist areas are also incredibly complimentary to our own.

This is our third acquisition this year, having previously acquired Aim Risk Services Limited and McGregor Insurance Services Limited, both on the South Coast of England. Aim is a schemes-based broker and vendor Andy Hearn will be taking a larger role developing schemes within James Hallam. McGregor’s is a travel industry specialist broker which very much complements our existing travel industry specialist division. David McGregor is a highly regarded figure within the travel sector and knows many of the Seventeen Group team already.

Seventeen Group continues to grow both organically and via acquisition. The number of broker transactions in the UK is falling as the number of brokers reduce but there is still a considerable number of firms who want to sell and want to go to a true independent non-private equity-based business where there is a long-term future. We are a firm owned and run by insurance brokers and that is proving to be appealing to a growing number.”