Only minnows remain for hungry Swinton
THE boss of Swinton insurance says the record £50m purchase of Equity will be its last major deal- because no big targets remain.
Although still hungry for growth, the Manchester company, will have to focus on buying clutches of smaller independent brokers, chief executive Patrick Smith said.
He revealed that the £175m refinancing package with Lloyds TSB Corporate gives it the clout to do more deals, but they will be small ones.
“We have got headroom to do more deals, but the reality is there are not more deals to be done on this scale, because we have got the lot .
“A-plan has just done a management buyout and we did look at Endsleigh but they have closed all the branches now. It’s just the minnows that remain, and we’;ll do what we always do and approach the individual brokers.”
Mr Smith, an industry veteran, who has driven Swinton’s successful high street drive, said he expects to add another 40 branches in the next year in this way.
“We have 580 branches and are now really the only serious national player on the high street.”
The Equity deal added 600 staff to Swinton’s 4,400 workforce. The Manchester firm now manages more than 3.25 million individual car and home insurance policies, making it the third largest insurance retailer in the UK.
Mr Smith said he had been surprised that the negotiations with the bank had been as smooth as they were, given the credit crisis: “It was never hairy or touch and go as you would expect with a refinancing of this size.”
