Insurance broker swoops for IFA

HENDERSON Insurance Brokers has bought independent financial advisers Denney O’Hara (Life and Pensions) and Denney O’Hara for an undisclosed sum.

Leed-based Henderson said the  jobs of all 18 employees at Denney O’Hara’s Lawnswood Business Park headquarteres in Leeds were safe.

Henderson’s chief executive Joe Henderson said the deal meant that Henderson could provide full services right across the insurance market, including general insurance, commercial insurance and employee benefits.

The acquisition comes after Henderson’s takeover of Buckinghamshire-based UK Credit Insurance Specialists last September.

Henderson now has business in 12 locations and employs almost 300 people across the group.

Mr Henderson said the company’s sound financial footing and its reputation for putting clients first was helping the business to grow while others were under pressure.

He said: “We’re in a fairly bullet-proof situation because everyone still needs insurance. But whilst everyone else is contracting because they’ve got debts to service, we are fairly debt-free and the acquisitions have been made at realistic prices rather than inflated prices.

“Nobody else has got any cash to splash but we’ve been prudent. We’ve got access to the funds at reasonable rates and we’ve been buying at reasonable prices, whereas others have incurred loans at nine per cent above base rate and have overpaid for businesses.”

Henderson is also on the lookout for more staff.