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Sometimes doing something from start to finish can be incredibly satisfying. Like a jigsaw puzzle. Or making a really delicious pasta from scratch. Or climbing a mountain.
Although Matthew Hartigan, managing director of Higos Insurance Services, didn’t quite do the deal alone, he had his team with him, Higos’s acquisition of The Insurance Group earlier in the month was the first he had completed as MD.
“I was quite proud of it,” he told Insurance Business UK. “It was good to do it from start to finish.”
The acquisition is the fifth that Higos has made since 2017, showing how eager it is to grow, and how brokers are willing to sell to them.
“We are doing well,” Hartigan said, when it was mentioned that the growth seemed promising.
By buying The Insurance Group (TIG), it expands Higos’s reach across the south-west, with TIG based in Plymouth. They already have offices across Southampton, as well as up to Bath and Dursley.
Hartigan was quick to point out that for Higos, the acquisitions were not simply about gaining more brokerages, but about finding the right fit for partnerships.
“We are finding acquisitions that fit our values,” he said. “With The Insurance Group, they’re really good people and we’re really excited to have them on board.” Those values, according to the MD, are most importantly a focus on customers. To Hartigan that is the crucial factor.
Hartigan said that he was also extremely pleased that Laurie de Mel, the previous owner of The Insurance Group, was happy to sell to Higos. That, he said, was an indicator of the values and culture of the organisation.
“I’ve been talking to Matt Hartigan for some time, and have been impressed by the commitment to nurturing our business and our people and helping us achieve the next level of growth,” de Mel said at the time of the sale. “Although we will be part of Higos, we will stay in our current offices and remain wholly focused on building our presence in the local community, offering customers all the advantages that come from being part of the GRP family, including new products, improved access to insurers and great terms for our clients.”
But that is not downplaying the significance of the acquisition for Higos, and what it may mean for the future of the organisation.
It is “by far the largest and most significant transaction Higos has undertaken, and underscores the focus and ambition which we have,” Hartigan said at the time.
“In acquiring TIG we are signalling our intent to further increase our acquisition activity and acquire businesses that are significant in their own right,” he added.
Hartigan is not new to the insurance industry. He was headhunted to lead Higos after 13 years at Zurich, where he was in various roles at the multi-national, although he was always based in the UK. Hartigan said that the change wasn’t that big when he made the switch.
“There are similar cultures at Higos and Zurich,” he said. “A commitment to clients. A commitment to learning and development. I am enjoying being somewhere a little more agile, after all that time at Zurich.”
It’s been almost a year now since he made the move, and the MD seems not only very happy with his decision but to have settled in well, with Higos taking great strides.
Moving forward, Hartigan says there are plans in the works for more acquisitions, but he couldn’t say how many exactly - just that there were talks happening. In terms of geography, Higos isn’t planning to expand out of the south west and look for world domination just yet.
