Read more: Gallagher snaps up Doyle Mahon Insurances
From these humble roots, the business has evolved into the global broking giant it is today, headed up by Pat Gallagher as CEO and chairman. Yesterday represented a full-circle milestone for the firm as it rebranded its Wexford-headquartered acquisition Innovu to Gallagher, marking the firm’s first direct presence in the Republic of Ireland.
Discussing the transition with Insurance Business, Ronan Foley (pictured left), CEO of Gallagher in Ireland noted that once the integration of INNOVU was fully completed, it was important that the firm moved quickly to adopt the new name. When you have a broker of Gallagher’s size, scale and reputation building out its presence in the Irish market, you want that recognition, he said, and being able to go out to the market with this brand and its strong Irish connection is great news.
Alongside the rebranding announcement, Gallagher also unveiled its acquisition of Doyle Mahon Insurances (Doyle Mahon) as a demonstration of its commitment to growing its customer and employee base across the country.
“I've been speaking to Doyle Mahon for the best part of two years about the potential opportunity of them joining ourselves,” Foley said. “And they have had a lot of people courting them over the last few years. The Gallagher deal [we did] in June was fantastic as at the time, it was a new launchpad to introduce Gallagher into the Republic of Ireland and I think it also gave us weight in terms of the market and we now have a strong proposition in the marketplace.
“The conversation was ongoing and then in the last two months or so, we agreed the structure of a deal. They were very keen on the Gallagher proposition and on the fact that we’re offering something that I suppose the market’s not offering – that we’re a broker through and through, and we’ll be here as a broker in the long-term, whereas other suitors may look to flip their business in three-to-five years. That was really important at the time to them and their staff.”
The deal also represents a dream geographic alignment, he said, with the Doyle Mahon premises some 11 minutes from Gallagher’s main office in Ireland. In fact, for the 20 staff coming across, their relocation into Gallagher’s state-of-the-art headquarters will represent less of a daily commute. As to the next steps of the integration, Foley noted that Doyle Mahon will be rebranded to Gallagher but at the right pace, with the name change expected to happen within the next three months.
It's a great business, he said, and one that he has admired for years, not least for its well-established reputation and great staff. The reaction from his own team has been great to see as well, as the Doyle Mahon offering is both well-known and highly respected – and the deal is a testament to the exciting next phase for Gallagher in Ireland.
“The next step really is that we want to establish Gallagher as the go-to-broker in Ireland,” he said. “We want to double the size of the business in a short period of time, at least over the next three years, and I see that as being very achievable. We’re looking to embed the business in the Gallagher ethos and grow at pace, primarily through organic growth because it’s really important that we’re broking correctly and building the business organically. But also through M&A activity as well.”
At the core of Gallagher’s ambitions in Ireland is a focus on delivering for its staff in terms of offering them opportunities and the job satisfaction that comes from being part of a business with a strong ethical culture. With Gallagher’s presence in some 130 countries globally and its 39,000-plus employees, he said, finding opportunities is made more accessible than ever and it helps people to know they’re in the right place for career progression.
It's also great for the clients to have access to the weight of resources available from a global enterprise, as having served the Irish market for many years now, Foley knows what customers want from their go-to broker. They’re looking for a broker that can service all their needs, he said, and who can do so in a way that gives them better value for money, improved access to options in terms of products and services, and strong advice. It is on this foundation that Gallagher in Ireland is looking to make its mark.
Though organic growth is Gallagher’s number one priority, he said, its M&A pipeline is already looking very healthy – and the business is looking to announce a number of deals over the next few months and into Q1 2023. The team has an active pipeline of inquiries and deals in exclusivity, and is continuing to gather pace on that front.
“What’s driving that is that Gallagher’s [direct] presence in the Irish market is new,” he said. “It’s a new option for brokers considering their next steps. And after looking at the options in terms of selling their business or partnering their business with someone else, I think we come to the fore because at our heart we are a broker and will always be a broker… I’m not sure other suitors in the marketplace will offer the same options or security.
“We’re about investing in businesses and growing them. I think we've demonstrated that already in Ireland and we’ll continue to grow that out. And really it’s about the entire proposition of Gallagher on a global basis – that on their doorstep now, these brokers have access to a global market, and to expertise and specialism they maybe didn’t have access to before, certainly as a smaller broker. That provides security for their clients, for their staff and for the future of their business.”
This commitment to longevity is particularly attractive to brokers in the Irish market right now as many of these are either smaller, local family businesses or larger, mid-size-plus businesses that started out as the former. There’s a significant amount of legacy in the market, he said, and the local connections and knowledge that come with that should be treasured. That’s something Gallagher is keen to help them hold onto, as it looks to work with them to move their businesses to the next level – without losing sight of or respect for this legacy.
“A lot of these brokerages are great businesses but they can get swallowed up in administration, and other areas of the business that take up increasing amounts of time,” he said. “This means they get less time in front of the clients, which is what the business was set up for in the first place. What we provide is the option for [these individuals] to spend more time speaking to clients and less time on administration – we free them up to grow and to get back to the basics of what broking is all about.”
For brokers considering their next steps, Foley said, his advice is simple – just pick up the phone and have a chat with him. He’d be delighted to meet with brokers across the market, just to chat through the new option that is now available through Gallagher’s direct presence in Ireland.
“I do think our proposition is the strongest, and we are here for the long term,” he said. “So, if brokers want to talk to us and to continue to talk to us, we’d like to talk to them.”
