London, December 15th, 2022
Damus Acquisitions Holdings Ltd (BHP Community Ltd trading as BHP Insurance, and Keegan Meredith & Williams Insurances Ltd) is the latest specialist business to become part of the rapidly growing insurance intermediary PIB Group Ltd (‘PIB’). The Dublin based broker known as BHP Insurance (‘BHP’) further strengthens PIB’s portfolio of businesses within its Irish division, led by Campion Insurance.
Formed of two businesses (BHP, and Keegan Meredith & Williams Insurances Ltd (‘KMW’)), their arrival adds to PIB’s accelerated growth in Ireland and builds on the eight businesses already acquired. With the addition of BHP’s two offices and 30 employees, they bring the total headcount for PIB in Ireland to a talented team of 350 employees.
About Damus Acquisitions Holdings Ltd.
Damus Acquisitions Holdings Limited trading as BHP (“BHP”, “The Company”, “The Business”) is an independent insurance broker based in Dublin. The company consists of two businesses.
BHP is a commercial broker based in West Dublin with 23 staff. BHP is the only not-for profit (NFP) focused broker in the Irish market with deep sector knowledge, boasting a unique position with three schemes targeting the NFP space. They have strong relationships across a broad range of clients including charities, social housing, community groups and community employment schemes.
Keegan Meredith and Williams Insurances (KMW) is a commercial broker based in South Dublin with seven staff. KMW have developed strong sports and general commercial insurance expertise.
Integration
Following completion of the deal the businesses will continue to trade as BHP and KMW under their existing brands for the medium term. The businesses will form part of the Irish division, led by Campion Insurance who have been part of PIB since 2021.
Teams will remain in their current locations, with the existing management team continuing in the business led by Martina Westphal and John Williams.
Martina Westphal, Managing Director BHP Insurance commented: “We are delighted that BHP and KMW have now joined the growing PIB team in Ireland. Collaborating with Melior Equity Partners over the past year and a half has delivered impressive results for our business and has also led to this very positive, strategic step of BHP partnering with PIB Group. This is great news for our customers and employees. With our specialism and dynamism we can contribute strongly to the growth of the business in Ireland and look forward to working with Campion Insurance to benefit from their success and scale in the Irish market. I’d like to thank the Melior team for their partnership, expertise and support. We are particularly pleased to have achieved this success with a local, Irish private equity partner.”
This is Melior Equity Partners’ first exit from Melior Equity Partners II, a €160 million private equity fund closed earlier this year supported by the ISIF, the EIF, Bank of Ireland and AIB, amongst others.
Esmond Greene, Managing Director, Melior Equity Partners said: “Our relationship with BHP over the past 18 months has supported significant growth in the business. Revenues have grown by 25% driven by a 20% increase in policies and an increase in customer retention rates. Employee numbers are also up more than 40% in this period. Our partnership has benefited from Melior’s extensive expertise in financial services, particularly in the insurance sector with our team having previously led a successful investment in the AA Ireland. We’d like to thank Martina Westphal and her team for their outstanding work and wish BHP and PIB every success in the future.”
John Lacy and John Hannon of FinRes provided M&A and strategic advice and capital to BHP over the last number of years. Advisors to the sellers included Deloitte Corporate Finance, William Fry and KPMG.
Complimenting PIB Ireland Strategy
BHP’s focus is on the not-for profit sector and in particular in the housing sector, while KMW focuses on commercial lines business. These businesses will complement PIB’s strategy to build market leading positions in specialist businesses. They will provide further significant opportunities for the Company by combining with Campion Insurance and leveraging the combined strong relationships in the Irish market.
Jim Campion, CEO of Campion Insurance, commented “Once again we are delighted to welcome new members to the PIB Group team in Ireland, so I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all our new colleagues in BHP and KMW. This news further highlights our growing strength in the Irish market and also continues the strategy of developing our specialist insurance offerings for the benefit of our customers. We are fully confident that with the great collaboration already in place across our Irish businesses, BHP, KMW and the whole Irish group will continue to go from strength to strength.”
Further growth
Looking ahead to 2023, PIB and Campion Insurance will continue to invest significantly in the Irish insurance market, and attract more excellent local brokers to the growing division.
Editor notes
About Damus Acquisitions Holdings Limited
Damus Acquisitions Holdings Limited trading as BHP (“BHP,” “The Company”, “The Business”) is an insurance broker based in Dublin, Ireland. The business is the formation of two business based in Dublin. BHP Insurance, is based in West Dublin, a not-for profit focussed general broker with a specialism in social housing schemes and unique sector knowledge. The other, Keegan Meredith and Williams Insurance, based out of Sandyford, Dublin, is a commercial lines focussed broker with strong sports and commercial insurance expertise.
About PIB Group
Backed by world leading private equity firms, Apax Funds and The Carlyle Group, PIB is a dynamic and diversified independent specialist insurance intermediary which is experiencing rapid acquisitive and organic growth. Launched in 2015, PIB has grown rapidly through acquisitions and by employing outstanding individuals with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the insurance market. PIB Group offers a range of specialist teams, products, and services to clients and has offices throughout the UK, Channel Islands, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands. For more information, visit https://www.pibgroup.co.uk
About Campion Insurance
Campion Insurance was established in Urlingford Co. Kilkenny in 1984 by Jim & Margaret Campion. Since then, it has grown into one of Ireland’s largest brokers, with offices nationwide. The business was acquired by PIB Group in 2021, and Campion Insurance is now PIB’s lead brand in the Irish market. This combination of local knowledge and international strength has enabled Campion Insurance to accelerate its growth in the market place.
About Melior Equity Partners:
Melior Equity Partners (“Melior”) is a leading Irish private equity investment firm headquartered in Dublin with a strong track record of supporting Irish management teams and investing in small to medium sized private businesses in Ireland.
Melior was founded in 2019 by Jonathan Cosgrave and Peter Garvey who previously co-headed the management of an Irish fund (CCI – a €292 million Ireland dedicated private equity fund) for The Carlyle Group. The Melior team members invested the CCI fund from 2014 to 2019 and is one of the most experienced private equity investment teams in the Irish market. Melior combines best-in-class international standards and far-reaching networks developed at leading global investment firms, with a deep knowledge of the local marketplace to bring a unique approach to investing and partnering with management teams in Ireland.
The Melior team is currently deploying capital out of Melior Equity Partners II, a €160 million fund which is backed by a pool of local and international blue-chip investors including the European Investment Fund, Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Bank of Ireland and AIB. The breadth and nature of its investors provide Melior with significant capacity to fund transactions of any scale in the Irish market.
Media Enquiries:
PIB Group (including Campion Insurance)
Lorraine Hambleton
Tel: 0203 961 7644 or email lorraine.hambleton@pib-insurance.com
Melior Equity Partners
Louise Cassidy
Tel: +353 (86) 383 5727 or louise@ckcomms.ie
December 15th, 2022
London-based insurance intermediary PIB Group has acquired Damus Acquisitions Holdings, the Dublin-based broker trading as BHP Insurance, in a move the group said would strengthen its portfolio of Irish businesses, led by Campion Insurance.
PIB has already acquired eight businesses in Ireland, including Campion last year, and the addition of BHP’s two offices and 30 employees will bring the group’s headcount in Ireland to 350 employees.
BHP consists of two businesses: the BHP commercial brokerage based in west Dublin, which focuses on the non-profit sector, and Keegan Meredith Williams Insurances, a commercial broker in south Dublin that works in sport and general commercial insurance.
Following the completion of the acquisition, the businesses will continue to trade as BHP and KMW for the medium term and will form part of PIB Group’s Irish division.
Jim Campion, CEO of Campion Insurance, commented: “Once again we are delighted to welcome new members to the PIB Group team in Ireland, so I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all our new colleagues in BHP and KMW.
“This news further highlights our growing strength in the Irish market and also continues the strategy of developing our specialist insurance offerings for the benefit of our customers.
“We are fully confident that with the great collaboration already in place across our Irish businesses, BHP, KMW and the whole Irish group will continue to go from strength to strength.”
Employees will remain at their current locations, and the existing management teams will continue led by managing director Martina Westphal and John Williams, and the new owners will “continue to invest significantly” in the Irish insurance market next year.
PIB has purchased the stake in BHP owned by private equity company Melior Equity Partners.
“We are delighted that BHP and KMW have now joined the growing PIB team in Ireland. Collaborating with Melior Equity Partners over the past year and a half has delivered impressive results for our business and has also led to this very positive, strategic step of BHP partnering with PIB Group,” said Westphal.
Esmond Greene, managing director of Melior Equity Partners, said: “Our relationship with BHP over the past 18 months has supported significant growth in the business. Revenues have grown by 25% driven by a 20% increase in policies and an increase in customer retention rates. Employee numbers are also up more than 40% in this period.”
According to Renatus, PIB was advised on the deal by law firm DLA Piper. with PwC providing deal and tax due diligence. BHP Insurance’s legal advisers were Stephen Keogh and Alex Reynolds in William Fry, with Deloitte providing deal advisory and KPMG advising on tax matters.
February 1, 2023
Jonathan Dalton spoke to Emmet Oliver on this morning’s Newstalk Breakfast Business show about the results of Melior’s Funding for Growth Survey and the broader SME environment.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/05O7XOZDZOljyoehQup3ec?si=4Qh3r5iSRGmPDmkNBLMwXg&nd=1
January 29, 2023
The majority of Irish small-to-medium sized enterprises are optimistic about the business environment in Ireland for 2023 despite the myriad challenges facing the economy, a new survey has found.
Despite difficulties including high inflation and falling consumer demand, 70 per cent of Irish SMEs said they were either “quite optimistic” or “very optimistic” when asked about their outlook for 2023 in a recent survey carried out by Melior Equity Partners, the Dublin-based private equity firm.
Almost a third of SMEs (30 per cent) said expansion into new export markets would be the main driver of growth this year, while just over 25 per cent expect to drive growth through increased sales to existing customers. Just 15 per cent of SMEs believe growth will be fuelled by acquisitions this year, suggesting a reluctance to pursue M&A given the high valuations for businesses over recent years.
“The optimistic outlook of Irish SMEs underlines their resilience despite current market challenges and is also a positive indication for the Irish economy going into 2023,” Jonathan Dalton, managing director of Melior, said.
“New market entry being the primary growth driver is no surprise. It reinforces our own first-hand experience that Irish entrepreneurs are hungry for international expansion, a factor that has led to many previous Irish success stories.”
The findings of the survey, which included responses from more than 50 business owners and senior executives across a range of sectors including consumer, business services, technology and healthcare, also found that inflation remained the greatest challenge for Irish companies this year.
A third of SMEs said inflation was the most pressing challenge facing their business today, while 31 per cent of respondents identified weakening consumer demand as their main concern. Just over 20 per cent said staff retention or recruitment would be the biggest challenge, while only 10 per cent said it would be rising interest rates.
https://www.businesspost.ie/news/future-is-bright-for-70-of-smes/
January 12th, 2023
Esmond Greene had an interesting discussion with Deirdre Morrison about how private equity works and why it can often be the right choice for motivated management teams and founders
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3aKrDJzietqUzQkbVSkFqj?si=ArZ1u6YqTgGojm4CkirbJA
January 8, 2023
Peter Garvey Co-founder and partner at Melior Equity Partners
“Private equity will comprise an increasing share of Irish M&A activity in 2023 as business owners look for experienced partners to help them accelerate their growth. Macroeconomic uncertainty, interest rate hikes and the resulting reduction in valuations led to declining deal volumes in 2022. That trend is expected to continue in 2023. Nevertheless, good companies will always attract capital. Melior Equity Partners was delighted to invest in three great Irish companies over the past 18 months. We will likely make a similar number of investments in 2023.”