Motorbike insurer swallowed by giant Ardonagh in £65m deal
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Motorcycle insurance broker Carole Nash, based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, has been acquired by Ardonagh Group for about £65m.
Ardonagh Group is the insurance conglomerate resulting from the July merger of five companies – Towergate, Autonet, Chase Templeton, Ryan Direct and Price Forbes – which were put into a single holding company.
Contacts have now been exchanged on the deal for the business which has more than 241,000 policyholders making it the largest motorbike insurance company in the UK.
The company, launched by Carole Nash from her kitchen in 1985 with a £2,500 redundancy cheque and sold in 2006 to the UK arm of French insurer Groupama, will keep its name.
Ardonagh chief executive David Ross said: “Carole Nash is a pre-eminent brand and market leader, a hugely successful business and therefore an ideal addition to the Group as part of our carefully targeted acquisition strategy.
“We have admired the business for a long time and are really happy to be welcoming them into the fold as another important addition to The Ardonagh Group family.”
Carole Nash chief executive David Newman said the company had been looking for a home where it could “build on the reputation we have fostered over many years, ensuring longevity of our much-admired service and expertise”.
“We have longstanding relationships with the Ardonagh management team and we are genuinely excited by the momentum that is so clear to see across the group,” he added.
