HgCapital Trust PLC Hg announces the sale of A-Plan Group (8428Z)
23 September 2020 - 4:05PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMHGT
RNS Number : 8428Z
HgCapital Trust PLC
23 September 2020
Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc ("HGT"), today announces
the sale of A-Plan Group ("APG"), one of the UK's largest
specialist insurance intermediaries, to Howden, the international
insurance broking group. The terms of the transaction are not
disclosed and the acquisition remains subject to regulatory
approval.
Hg partnered with APG in 2015, recognising the business'
best-in-class customer success model - a personal, service-oriented
approach, leading to very high levels of customer satisfaction
alongside strong organic growth. Since then Hg has worked with
management to transform APG from a predominantly branch-based,
personal lines insurance broker, to a business with a national
footprint across multiple lines of business, supported by
industry-leading data and analytics capabilities.
APG has more than doubled its revenues under Hg's ownership and
now has 1.3 million policies compared with 600,000 at acquisition.
Renewal rates are strong and NPS scores remain exceptionally high
and are supported by excellent customer service. APG has also
implemented a new cloud IT broking platform, achieving efficiencies
and providing data insights to drive new business growth and
improve customer retention. APG has also undertaken a significant
M&A programme which has led to a more diverse and scaled
position in the UK insurance market. Investment in talent across
APG's key functions and broad equity ownership across APG's
employee base has also been a key driver for growth.
Thorsten Toepfer, Partner at Hg, said: "We would like to thank
Carl and the team for the great partnership and exceptional
performance over the last 5 years. The company has delivered
excellent organic growth, whilst also executing 56 accretive
M&A transactions and building an MGA capability.
"Using our technology expertise, Hg has also worked with
management to put software and data at the heart of the business
which has greatly improved efficiency and performance. The team's
biggest achievement, however, has been to maintain A-Plan's strong
culture, which has been responsible for its industry-leading
customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as its trusted insurer
relationships throughout this period of rapid change."
Carl Shuker, CEO of A-Plan Group, said: "We have had a great
journey with Hg, together building on a long-term track record of
sustainable growth that we are very proud of. Today we employ over
2,000 staff, a number which has almost doubled during Hg's
investment.
"We are delighted by the prospect of working with Howden; it's a
business that is so evidently aligned with us on the central
importance of looking after its people, clients and insurers but
will also support us in M&A as we deliver on Howden's ambition
for UK regional insurance distribution."
HGT, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives
private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate
in all Hg's investments.
This transaction values HGT's current investment in APG at
GBP21.5 million. This would represent an uplift of GBP3.2 million
(18%) or 1 pence per share over the carrying value of GBP18.3
million in the Net Asset Value ("NAV") of the Company at 31 August
2020.
Based on the 31 August 2020 pro-forma NAV (including the
increase in equity via tap equity issues over the third quarter of
2020), following completion of this transaction the pro-forma NAV
of the Trust is expected to be GBP1.16 billion (or 282.9 pence per
share). HGT's liquid resources available for future deployment
(including all announced transactions and the interim dividend
payable in October 2020) are estimated to be GBP311 million (27% of
the pro-forma 31 August 2020 NAV).
Note that these figures only relate to HGT's share of Hg's
overall investment in APG.
For further details:
Hg
Laura Dixon +44 (0)20 8396 0930
Brunswick
Azadeh Varzi +44 (0)207 404 5959
About HgCapital Trust plc
HgCapital Trust plc, whose shares are listed on the London Stock
Exchange (ticker: HGT.L), gives investors exposure through a liquid
vehicle to a portfolio of high-growth private companies in the
software and services sector. The selection of new investments and
creation of value in these businesses are managed by Hg, an
experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term
track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its
investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com
.
The contents of the Hg, HGT, A-Plan Group and Howden websites
are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this
announcement.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
DISZZGZLKFGGGZG
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 23, 2020 02:05 ET (06:05 GMT)
Hg Capital (LSE:HGT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Hg Capital (LSE:HGT)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024