Private equity house takes 68% stake in Southern broker as management takes 32%.
Barclays Private Equity has backed the management of Oxford-based broker A-Plan in a buy-out of the business, Insurance Times can reveal.
Under the deal, the A-Plan management has taken control of 32% of the equity in the businesses as it seeks to maintain its independence in the face of the current craze for consolidation. Barclays owns the remaining 68%.
A-Plan chief executive Carl Shuker said: “We see the management buyout, with over 40 senior managers participating, as the logical next step in the development of the business. Very importantly it maintains our ongoing independence and it is very much business as usual for our staff, clients and insurance partners.”
Shuker declined to reveal the broker’s GWP. It specialises in personal lines and has 54 branches across the South, employing around 500 staff.
Owen Clarke, managing director of Barclays Private Equity, said: “A-Plan provides its customers with competitively priced products from a range of insurers, advice in selecting the product that best fits their needs, and supports the customer in dealing with their insurer should a claim be made. In a world where service is increasingly remote, delivered through call centres and the internet, customers value A-Plan’s local, face to face, model. A-Plan’s impressive growth is testament to the success of this approach. We look forward to supporting the team in building on that success.”
