Controlling shareholder close to hiring Evercore to handle auction

High street broker A-Plan is planning a sale that could value the company at £300m, Sky News reports.

The broker’s controlling shareholder, private equity group Equistone, is close to hiring advisory firm Evercore Partners to oversee an auction of the company, Sky News said.

A-Plan, founded in the 1960s, sells home, motor and commercial insurance through 70 branches.

In 2008, Equistone backed a management buy-out of A-Plan, under which the broker’s management team acquired a 32% stake in the business.