Recent deals

Hines Associates (“Hines”) is delighted to announce that it advised the shareholders of Devitt Insurance Services Limited (“Devitt”) on its sale to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co (“Gallagher”).

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), has entered into an agreement to acquire specialist UK personal lines insurance broker Devitt.

Devitt was founded in 1936 and focusses predominantly on motorcycle and motorhome insurance. It has grown organically and through strategic acquisitions to become the UK’s largest motorhome broker with established affinity relationships with the Caravan and Motorhome Club and BMW Motorrad. It is the fourth largest motorcycle broker and also offers car, home and motor trade related insurance. Devitt has circa 130,000 policies across its portfolio and has 130 employees based out of Romford, Essex and Ipswich, Suffolk.

J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO commented:
“Devitt is a highly-regarded business and culturally is a great fit with Gallagher. The business’s impressive specialist expertise is complementary to our existing UK Retail niche practices, extends our affinity partnership reach and further enhances our digital capabilities. I am delighted to welcome William, Tony and their associates to Gallagher.” 

Hines was retained as exclusive financial adviser to Devitt and advised on a sale process designed to optimise value for the shareholders, while finding a new owner with the right cultural fit to continue with the development of the business and its employees.

Hines’ role included:

• Advising shareholders on sale strategy, tactics and timing
• Assisting in the selection of potential investors and running a competitive process
• Leading commercial negotiations to extract maximum value from the balance sheet
• Preparation of sales materials and working with management throughout the diligence and legal documentation process to optimise the commercial terms

William Hughes, Managing Director of Devitt stated:
“Tony and I selected Hines Associates as our exclusive corporate finance adviser because of their financial services expertise and track record of successfully selling independent insurance brokers. Their knowledge and advice was invaluable throughout and the commitment and intensity they bought to the project from start to finish was exemplary. We could not have done this without them, for which Tony and I will always be grateful.” 

“William and Tony have built a tremendous business with loyal staff, supportive insurance partners and long-standing affinity relationships. We were delighted to help them find the right partner to take the business forward and wish them the very best for the next stage of their journey.” said Jack Stewart, Partner at Hines Associates.