AXA makes acquistion

AXA UK has acquired the marketing agency, Ignition NBS. Ignition NBS is a multi-award winning company providing marketing and business development services to general insurance brokers and the wider professional services market.

AXA UK is buying the company’s entire share capital through its subsidiary AXA Services. It will provide significant investment to help it grow its state-of-the-art marketing consultancy services, including meeting the needs of new target markets.

Ignition will retain its independence as a separate organisation outside of AXA’s structure and operational control.

Peter Hubbard, Chief Executive of AXA Insurance, said: “We are extremely pleased to have agreed terms for the purchase of Ignition NBS, which provides us with a unique value added service offering to our broker partners in the SME market. We intend to expand upon Ignition NBS’s success, underpinning its position as a market leading company, which will help to build on the reach of our value chain. Ignition NBS will also give us access to new markets, allowing us to cross sell insurance products to the clients of professional services firms.”

Andy Heap, Chief Executive of Ignition NBS, said: “We identified a gap in the UK market to offer a unique marketing support service at very low cost to professional service clients. We have made enormous strides since Ignition NBS was created in 2003, supporting over 100 broker clients. I firmly believe that AXA are the right partner to help us grow the business and achieve even greater success for our clients and new shareholder.”