Ardonagh Advisory continues acquisition spree with commercial broker purchase

Ardonagh Advisory has continued its acquisition spree by snapping up Sentinel Insurance Solutions, a statement released yesterday (6 July 2023) said.

Reading-based commercial broker Sentinel specialises in self-drive hire insurance products for clients across the UK.

As part of the deal, the firm will join Ethos Broking, which forms part of the SME broking platform that Ardonagh Advisory is comprised of.

“It will bring additional scope to its existing product offering and work across the wider Ardonagh Advisory platform to enhance its capabilities,” a statement added.

Phil Bayles, chief commercial officer of Ardonagh Advisory, said: “Sentinel is a superb business, fuelled by a team of experts that adds a much sought-after specialist capability to Ethos and the wider Ardonagh Advisory business.

“This is a business that has longstanding and preferential carrier agreements with leading insurer partners enabling them to maintain a competitive position in the market.”

’Great opportunity’

Sentinel was established in 2008 by managing director Jon Duncan, who works alongside fellow director James Cooper.

Duncan and Cooper will continue to lead the business, working alongside the Ethos Broking team and wider Ardonagh Advisory platform.

“Jon, James and the team have proven that theirs is a business that is centred around clients and have used their impressive entrepreneurial skills to build Sentinel into the exceptional business it is today,” Bayles said.

“We look forward to welcoming the team onboard and working closely with them to help the business continue on its growth journey.”

Duncan added: “The team at Ethos Broking are absolutely aligned in supporting us as we continue to harness our unique specialist offering so that we can continue to deliver a client experience that really sets us apart.

“This partnership represents a great opportunity for us to benefit from being part of a bigger broking group, while at the same time ensuring that we maintain all the qualities that ensure ours is a distinct voice in the market.”

Growth

This came after Ardonagh Advisory announced it had acquired broker PB Curran this week (5 July 2023) as part of plans to strengthen its regional presence.

It also made a double swoop to acquire a majority shareholding in Stanhope Cooper and Renovation Underwriting earlier this year (25 April 2023).

Following this, Bayles told Insurance Times that the SME broking platform was ”interested in building capability and expertise so that we can better serve our client base”.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure that whatever our clients need, whether that’s a commercial business or whether it’s an individual, we have the solution for those needs,” Bayles said.