Towergate, the privately owned insurance broker, has acquired
Open, which boasts 40% of the UK broker market, was acquired by Montagu and management for £182m from quoted company Misys in March last year for £182m. Current chief executive Phillip Bell will remain with the company and maintain an equity stake in the enlarged business
Towergate is paying 14.7 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the business. In its last financial year, Open made Ebitda of £18.8m on sales of £35m.
In April, Towergate recruited general insurer Aviva’s UK boss, Patrick Snowball, to become deputy chairman. At the time, Peter Cullum said: “A key focus for Patrick will be the ‘buy and build’ growth of our new business, Towergate Financial Services.”
Chris Spink