Swindon & Wiltshire News
Established Wiltshire insurance broker sold to London firm
A 92-year-old Wiltshire-based chain of insurance brokers insurers has been sold.
Advance Insurance Agencies, which has offices in Chippenham, Swindon, Westbury, and Trowbridge, has been acquired by London-based Jensten Group for an undisclosed sum.
The Advance Insurance brand will be retained in line with Jensten’s integration model.
Advance employs 82 people locally and handles £16 million gross written premium across personal insurance and commercial insurance departments.
The acquisition, the second this year for Jensten, is part of the firm’s ambitious buy and build growth strategy focused on expanding its specialist capability.
Matt Jones, presently business development manager, will become managing director, and take over the day-to-day running of the business from Clive Woods, who will move into a consultancy role for a transitional period. Director Sam Woods is retiring.
“We were attracted to Jensten by the pragmatic and efficient approach of the M&A team, the strong cultural overlap and their innovative and unique approach to buying brokerages,” said Clive.
“I have no doubt the clients, staff and business as a whole will flourish under Jensten’s ownership and look forward to working with the Jensten team to take the business we have proudly built to the next level.”
Jensten currently controls around £245 million gross written premium and has a publicly stated ambition to reach £500 million within the next three to five years.
