The broker’s chief executive says ’employers need to ensure their employees are happy and healthy in their jobs’ 

Partners& has boosted its employee benefits proposition with two new partnerships - the broker has joined forces with Direct Healthline and entered a strategic partnership with Advo Group.

Direct Healthline, which is based in Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, is led by managing director Isobel Skeates.

Her team will be making the move to Partners& and will be reporting to Marcia Reid, managing partner of the Partners& wellbeing, engagement and benefits team.

Phil Barton, chief executive of Partners&, said: “We are very pleased to welcome clients and colleagues from Direct Healthline and Advo Group to Partners&. It’s another great move as we continue to build our employee benefits proposition.

“We have always been of the firm belief that the health of a business will be reflected in the health and wellbeing of its employees.

“As we head into 2022 with headlines talking about ‘The Great Resignation’ now more than ever, employers need to ensure their employees are happy and healthy in their jobs.

”Having a robust employee benefits programme in place will help firms achieve their employee retention goals. With our increasing number of employee benefits experts, we are perfectly placed to deliver for companies who need our experience and advice.”

Right move

Advo Group, meanwhile, has a head office in Kent as well as branches in Oxford, Newhaven and Stockport. It provides an outsourced payroll and HR service, as well as FCA regulated reviews, advice and recommendations across a suite of employee benefits - including health, risk, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits.

To enable Advo to better focus on the needs of SME clients, the advisory firm’s partnership with Partners& will see the broker service Advo’s larger corporate clients.

Larry Bulmer, Advo’s chief executive, said: “We believe Partners& to be a forward-thinking advisory business that shares many cultural similarities with us and possesses an array of capabilities that are in line with the longer-term requirements of larger, corporate clients.

“We are confident that Partners& can deliver the advice and service [clients] need and deserve, today and in the years ahead.”

Richard Skeates, director at Direct Healthline, added: “From the day we first met Barton, we knew this was the right move for us - the way the Partners& team has built trust and understanding has only reaffirmed that view.

“Partners& has a great proposition for clients and a culture that resonates with ours. I speak for our whole team when I say we are looking forward to this next adventure and to great success in the future.”