Former Aon UK chief executive Dennis Mahoney joins as executive chairman as part of the deal

The deal is done

Robert Fleming Insurance Brokers (RFIB) have today agreed terms to sell a majority stake in the business to US private equity firm Calera Capital.

As part of the investment, RFIB will hire Dennis Mahoney, the former chief executive of Aon UK, as executive chairman. Current management and employees, including chief executive Jonathan Turnbull, will retain a significant equity stake in the company.

Turnbull, at the company since May 2008, said that the business was “scalable” but that “to realise our strategy, we recognised that it was essential to secure a partner which would provide the necessary backing to take RFIB to the next stage.

“The team at Calera Capital share our vision and with their support we are now ideally positioned to realise our ambitions.”

Calera Capital was founded in 1991, and has approximately $1.8bn of capital currently under management.

Calera managing director James Halow said: “RFIB has a strong brand, a long track record of executing for its clients and an attractive, scalable infrastructure to support future growth.

“We see tremendous opportunities to build the business further in what is a rapidly evolving market.”

Mahoney expressed his “honour” at being invited to work with RFIB and urnbull, and said: “In addition to fulfilling my role, I am investing substantial funds of my own to support the continued successful growth of RFIB.”

Robert Fleming Insurance Broker’s turnover increased by 33.5% between 2008 and 2012, with their staff headcount growing by 6% over the same time period.