Recent deals

Hines is delighted to announce that it advised Inflexion on the sale of its investment in David Roberts & Partners to BMS Group

Founded in 1977, DR&P is firmly established as one of the fastest growing UK brokers, and is listed as one of the UK’s leading independent insurance brokers. DR&P has a team of almost 400 people in 25 offices across the UK and Europe, handling in excess of £620 million GWP for its clients. Inflexion initially invested in DR&P in 2021 and re-invested in 2023 to support further growth of the business.

Together with Inflexion’s support, management successfully pursued a M&A strategy to build a network of strategically aligned businesses in the regional insurance broking market. The business also benefitted from significant investment in its technology infrastructure. DR&P’s industry leading organic growth rate of 23%, combined with its thoughtful approach to M&A with 14 acquisitions completed in last three years, has generated a tenfold increase in EBITDA alongside a quadrupling of headcount during Inflexion’s investment. The business enjoys 95% client retention and has active clients in 46 countries worldwide, despite being UK only focussed when Inflexion invested.

The new partnership with BMS will allow the enlarged Group to bolster client service across territories and specialisms, leveraging combined expertise across specialty retail, wholesale (re)insurance, and MGAs to deliver significant value.

John Page, Chief Executive of DR&P, commented: “We have been exploring ways of maximising our strength in specialty retail, London (re)insurance and MGA markets for some time and are delighted to have found in BMS a perfect opportunity to join forces with a highly successful, global business with a deep commitment to independent broking. BMS’ commitment to exceptional client outcomes aligns well with our own. We have countless opportunities ahead of us and I’m hugely excited about the future for our combined business.”

“We chose to work with Hines due to their expertise and leading reputation in our sector. Like us, they are service-driven and we knew they would deliver for the shareholders. We are delighted by the outcome, and the speed of the process minimised disruption to our day job.”

Dilipe Arul, Partner at Hines, commented: “This transaction marks a strong vote of confidence in the insurance distribution sector. High quality assets continue to attract significant interest from both trade and private equity. The diversity of DR&P’s organic growth levers and its M&A optionality serve as key differentiators – and are key value drivers in a rapidly evolving UK market landscape.”

“We look forward to seeing DR&P’s impressive management team continue to outperform and enhance its growth prospects under this compelling new partnership.”