News

Seventeen Group is pleased to announce its third acquisition of the year, Watford based Jannard Quadrant.

The business was owned by Stephen Sweden and Geoff Callaway, both of whom will remain and eventually move into Seventeen Group’s existing Watford office along with the wider Jannard Quadrant team. Total GWP amounts to £3.5M, comprised mainly of commercial business and including a strong Hotel book. Jannard Quadrant have for many years been strong supporters of Seventeen Group’s MGA subsidiary, Touchstone Underwriting.

Seventeen Group CEO Paul Anscombe comments:

“This was a natural acquisition for both parties. We have known the Jannard Quadrant team for many years, we are both based in Watford and there is an excellent trading relationship with Touchstone. The focus on ‘top end’ hotels also fits incredibly well with James Hallam’s specialism in the hotel sector. I am delighted to welcome the team on board”

End of Press Release

For more information contact
Jackie Knight Head of Marketing and Media
T: 07824 486319
E: jackie.knight@seventeengroup.co.uk

Seventeen Group are pleased to announce the appointment of Roy Standish to the board of broking subsidiary James Hallam with effect from March 2024. Having joined the business in 2019, Standish originally oversaw James Hallam’s Partnership Broker programme before subsequently taking responsibility for Insurer Relationships. Going forward, he will retain these responsibilities but additionally assist on broker M&A as part of James Hallam’s growth strategy.

Speaking about this appointment, Seventeen Group Chief Executive Officer Paul Anscombe adds:

“Roy has been a great friend of Seventeen Group for many years. We were delighted to invite him into the business back in 2019 and now onto the Board. Having previously worked for a major insurer, Roy is uniquely placed to work with our strategic insurer partners to ensure the best outcomes for our clients”.

Roy commented “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the James Hallam Board and look forward to working with our Distribution Partners as well as new acquisition opportunities. It’s a really exciting time as we drive our refreshed Distribution strategy and continue to grow, organically and through acquisitions. I’m really proud to be part of the James Hallam business and helping to build a long term future as a truly independent, specialised regional broker.”

End of Press Release

For more information contact Jackie Knight Head of Marketing and Media
T: 07824 486319
E: jackie.knight@seventeengroup.co.uk

Seventeen Group is pleased to announce our 2022 results.

Overall Group income rose by 19% from £31.2M to £37.2M and adjusted EBITDA increased by 34% from £4.8M to £6.4M. Four acquisitions were made in 2022 and when the full year impact of these acquisitions are taken into account our EBITDA increases to £7.6M.

Whilst acquisitions have long been part of Seventeen Group’s growth strategy, organic growth remains key. The broking subsidiary, James Hallam, has seen the Hospitality Division grow from £2M to £2.6M in the period and the new Events Team (established in late 2021) grew to £628K.

Touchstone, the Group’s MGA established in 2007, saw further growth in 2022 increasing revenue from £5.7M to £6.1M. Gross Written Premium for Touchstone exceeded £50M.

To support our M&A strategy, in 2022 we established a new funding structure with Ares. Whilst one off costs associated with the setup of the facility impacted the annual result, it has given us significant additional long-term financial strength to enable us to deliver our growth ambitions.

Our acquisitions in 2022 were:

CCRS – Commercial broker based in Glasgow with specialisms in Public Sector and Vehicle Dismantlers alongside general corporate business.

Broker Scotland – A Real estate focused broker also based in Glasgow

Bryce Smith & Partners – A High net worth and real estate broker based in West London

Torbay Insurance services – a Torquay based broker which adds to our existing

South West presence in Plymouth and Penzance

Income from the above acquisitions added £1.2M in 2022 and £3.6M on an annualised basis.

Commenting on the results, Group CEO Paul Anscombe adds:

“I am very pleased with the progress that Seventeen Group continues to make in a fast changing market. We have focused strongly on the underlying performance of the business as well as investing in new opportunities and acquisitions.

Our successful strategy of acquiring complimentary, entrepreneurial businesses has continued in the current year with the acquisition of Aim Insurance Services, Mint Insurance Brokers, McGregor Insurance Services and Kestrel Insurance all joining the group. Further acquisitions are expected to complete in the coming months. Our brand, culture and scale continue to attract the highest quality of talent through both acquisition and key staff hires”.

Seventeen Group announce the appointment of Howard Fryer and Ajay Tailor to the Seventeen Group Limited board.

Howard Fryer joined Seventeen Group in 2015 and is the Chief Trading Officer of broking subsidiary James Hallam. He retains this role whilst also stepping up to the Group Board.

Ajay Tailor joined Seventeen Group early in 2023 in his role as Group Chief Financial Officer. In addition to his appointment to the Seventeen Group board, Ajay also joins the subsidiary boards of James Hallam and Touchstone Underwriting.

Group CEO Paul Anscombe comments:

I am delighted to welcome Howard and Ajay onto the Group board. Seventeen Group has significant growth plans in place and these appointments strengthen the business for the opportunities which lie ahead.

Seventeen Group has acquired Mint Insurance Brokers Limited, with the deal completing 3rd August.

Mint is a City of London based broker, established and led by Brian Bendle and Manjit Gill along with Director Oliver Wharmby, with a Total GWP of £13m.

The business places retail and wholesale business within the London Market and handles a broad range of clients. Specialisms include Professional Liability, Real Estate, Casualty/Contract Works and Medical Malpractice.

Mint has been an AR of Seventeen Group’s broking subsidiary James Hallam since 2020. Mint Managing Director, Brian Bendle comments:

“On behalf of the whole Mint team, Manjit and I are delighted to complete the transition from partner to division of such a vibrant and expanding Group with mutual benefit for both companies”.

Seventeen Group Chief Executive Paul Anscombe comments:

“Brian and Manjit have been known to us for many years and so this is a very natural progression of our relationship. The Mint team bring a huge amount of experience and relationships into the Group and will specifically help us build our London Market presence. Their specialist areas are also incredibly complimentary to our own.

This is our third acquisition this year, having previously acquired Aim Risk Services Limited and McGregor Insurance Services Limited, both on the South Coast of England. Aim is a schemes-based broker and vendor Andy Hearn will be taking a larger role developing schemes within James Hallam. McGregor’s is a travel industry specialist broker which very much complements our existing travel industry specialist division. David McGregor is a highly regarded figure within the travel sector and knows many of the Seventeen Group team already.

Seventeen Group continues to grow both organically and via acquisition. The number of broker transactions in the UK is falling as the number of brokers reduce but there is still a considerable number of firms who want to sell and want to go to a true independent non-private equity-based business where there is a long-term future. We are a firm owned and run by insurance brokers and that is proving to be appealing to a growing number.”

James Hallam held a reception in Glasgow for over 100 guest to outline our plans for expansion in Scotland. We originally established our presence in Glasgow in 2009 and now employ over 80 staff in three offices. The Glasgow offices of CCRS and Broker Scotland have rebranded to James Hallam at the end of June and we have a further office in Dumfries on the site of Queen of the South Football Club.

The reception was hosted by Neil Campbell (Regional Director Scotland) and John Dougherty (UK Head of Corporate) and supported by colleagues from the wider James Hallam business including Roy Standish (James Hallam Distribution Director). The team outlined their plans to grow across a range of Corporate and specialist lines of business and to work closely with the Scottish insurer market, many of whom were present at the event. Further acquisition and recruitment opportunities are being considered for the year ahead.

Speaking about the event Group CEO Paul Anscombe commented:
“We are very proud of our growth in Scotland. It is a great country to invest in and offers opportunity for growth. We have been building our team quietly over the years and now feel that we have a strong story to tell as an expanding true independent. In addition to creating local opportunities for staff, a number of colleagues in Glasgow and Dumfries have taken on wider responsibilities within James Hallam and this has strengthened the business overall”

This time last year the Champions Group was founded by Seventeen Group to drive forward environmental education for staff across the company.

The Champions Group is headed up by board members Paul Anscombe, Diana Bratt and Alan Roe, with representatives joining from offices across the UK.

The main goal of our Champions is to provide vital information about the environment and sustainability to all staff members in an easily digestible way.

Over the past year, the group has met regularly and developed quarterly newsletters in order provide environmental statistics, important and relevant updates and information on projects being run or supported by the group.

With soaring energy costs, weather warnings and potential summer water restrictions, it is important to educate staff on these precious resources and encourage careful usage of them at work and at home.

Seventeen Group is proud to support and encourage multiple projects that benefit staff members and the environment notably; supporting the National Trust by annually planting trees and supplying staff with company water bottles to cut down on their single use plastic use.

Seventeen Group is very proud of all that the Champions Group have achieved in their first year and look forward to seeing how they grow and what they continue to do in the future.

James Hallam is delighted to announce that our Chartered Insurance Broker Status has successfully been renewed for another year by the Chartered Insurance Institute, we first obtained this accreditation in 2016.

Each firm that holds this status adheres to an ethical code that underpins broader commitments to professional values.

Our corporate chartered status is a public declaration that assures our clients that we put their interests first, invest in the development of peoples technical skills and knowledge and also, support wider initiatives that benefit the society and the growth of the profession.

To learn more about this accreditation and why it is important, please use the following link: https://www.cii.co.uk/membership/join-us/chartered/corporate-chartered/why-choose-a-chartered-firm/