“Deep pockets” to fund doubling of motor policyholders
Kwik Fit Insurance is looking to double in size through £1m-plus acquisitions within the next five years chief executive Brendan Devine says, Scotland on Sunday reports.
It will buy brokers to double its motor insurance policyholders from 500,000 to one million before 2014.
Kwik Fit's owners are French venture capitalist group PAI Partners. "One thing they have said to me was they are not interested in small acquisitions, they are only interested in big ones." He said PAI Partners had not set aside a specific war chest, but had "deep pockets". Target companies would be worth more than £1m.
Joint-venture underwriting
Devine, who took over in January this year, said he was also in negotiations with potential joint venture partners over a deal which would allow the intermediary to underwrite its own policies within a year.
Kwik Fit will start with motoring policies and then move into the more profitable household insurance market. Kwik Fit has 100,000 household policyholders.
The company wants to change its business model. "The shelf life of the model we have would come to an end within ten years, so we need to plan for the future and have some alternatives," Devine told Scotland on Sunday.
