County Down insurance business Precise Protect has been bought by London-listed investment group Tavistock Investments for £7 million.
The move will see the Bangor company’s 200 advisors and other staff join Tavistock, which is on the acquisition trail having divested its investment management business last year.
Precise Protect offers clients a wide range of insurance products, including life and critical illness cover, private medical insurance, personal injury and income protection and serves some 37,000 clients across the UK with an average age of under 40 years old. Its business has grown fast and recorded pretax profits of £1.45 million last year on turnover of £6.5 million.
“Precise Protect’s revenues and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) have grown rapidly and we remain excited about its prospects,” Tony Close, Precise Protect’s Managing Director, said. “However, we are very pleased to be joining the Tavistock group which will enable us to offer a much wider range of services to our clients, as well as deliver a development pathway for advisers and career development opportunities for staff.”
A total of £2.75 million of the £7 million price tag will be paid now, as well as consideration shares, shares in Tavistock issued to Precise Protect as part of the consideration for the purchase. The remaining £4 million will be payable in three annual installments subject to the future performance of the business.
Brian Raven, Tavistock’s Chief Executive, said there are considerable synergies in the deal.
“We are delighted to welcome Tony and his team into the group and to add Precise Protect’s products to the wider group’s service proposition,” he said. “We look forward to benefitting from numerous synergies, including operational cost savings, increased profitability and new business leads.”
