TPA Davies Group revealed last week that it had
acquired specialist insurance and professional services provider Ambant – a move which will see the group diversify, with
Ambant forming a new insurance services division alongside Davies’s existing businesses.
Insurance Business spoke to Dan Saulter (pictured), CEO of Davies Group, to find out more about what drove the deal and the future plans for the business.
Insurance services was identified as an expansion area and a priority for 2017 early on in the year, following an investment from US private equity firm HGGC in January, which saw it take a majority stake in the business.
“We identified quite some time ago that our clients – MGAs, brokers, big insurers, reinsurers – were looking to buy more services from fewer partners. What we’ve been trying to do in the last two or three years is to make sure what we have in our solution set is the most relevant it can be for our clients,” Saulter explained.
Having worked alongside Ambant on a number of accounts, Davies had gotten to know the business and identified it as a company that it wanted to bring into the group.
“It’s a fast-growing business, and it’s a business which shares a similar culture with Davies – one of investing in its people and developing from within, and I think for us it’s a great fit,” commented Saulter.
“I think they are the number one team in the market, they reference really well – they have some great client relationships. They’re also very focused, and very knowledgeable of the MGA broker and Lloyd’s segment of the market, which for us are big focus areas and are areas where we’ve certainly seen most growth in our claims operations,” he went on to say.
The deal is part of a wider strategy by Davies to expands its offering, and comes following two previous acquisitions this year – those of regulatory services business, Cynergie, in March, and specialist casualty claims TPA, CMSL, in August.
“In terms of new expansion areas, the Cynergie and Ambant deals are very important strategically for us, and they enable us to build out and redefine our business across our four areas – which are claims solutions, insurance services, complaints handling and compliance and regulatory,” Saulter said.
Looking ahead, the company is focusing on organic growth, but the CEO wouldn’t rule out more acquisitions.
“It’s one of those things where you can never say never,” Saulter said. “Priority number one for us around the board table is very much how do we carry on growing organically, and how do we carry on giving a good service to our customers… A big priority for us today is also doubling down on our investment in technology, in innovation, and in the future of the business.”
“The reality is, we are operating in a market here in the UK and Ireland which will consolidate – whether or not we take part in that, it will happen,” he noted.
“We’re focused mainly on being able to be as relevant as we can be, and provide the right services to our insurance and highly regulated clients.”
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