An insurance broker headquartered in Newport has been bought by US insurance giant NSM Insurance Group. Acquis, which is Europe’s leading provider of specialist insurance programmes for leased equipment to the asset finance market, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by NSM for an undisclosed sum.
The Welsh firm, which also has a base in Amsterdam and supports over 100 clients in 16 different countries, said the acquisition will ensure it is well placed to achieve its growth ambitions of expanding its services in existing and new territories.
Headquartered in Pennsylvania, NSM is a global leader in speciality insurance with premium of more than $1.5bn (£1.2bn) across over 25 niche insurance programs and brands in the US and UK including collector cars, pets, coastal condominiums, and sports and fitness. For over 30 years, it has specialised in investing in a broad portfolio of insurance companies in the US and Europe.
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Acquis went through an MBO process in 2019 when they were backed by specialist private equity investor Dunedin LLP. Subsequently, the insurance broker was able to accelerate its growth plans, tripling the size of its workforce, taking on 46 new customers, launching 50 additional insurance programmes and increasing turnover by 47% within three years.
Nick Leader, chief executive of Acquis, said: “This investment from NSM Insurance Group marks a significant opportunity for Acquis to meet the increased demand we are witnessing for our products, and to continue to develop our market-leading insurance solutions for the asset finance market.
“NSM is a perfect fit for Acquis, they understand our market and are as ambitious about our growth potential as we are. This deal will enable the continued development of our people, processes and systems and will allow us to galvanise our growth plans. NSM's confidence in Acquis is testament to the hard work and dedication of our team in building the company we are today."
NSM Insurance chief executive and founder Geof McKernan said: “We are entrepreneurs at heart and we seize compelling opportunities to partner with high-performing companies with significant growth opportunity. We are excited to further expand in Europe and the U.S. with the acquisition of Acquis — the leader in innovative solutions for the finance and leasing industry. We look forward to partnering with Nick and his team and providing them with our state-of-the-art resources and capacity to help take their business to new heights.”
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