Private equity and opportunity investor Searchlight Capital Partners has taken a majority stake in independent insurance intermediary Global Risk Partners.
The founding partners of Global Risk Partners (GRP), Peter Cullum CBE and David Margrett, as well as founding investor Penta Capital are set to retain minority stakes in the firm.
Ares Management is also set to continue in its role as an important capital provider to GRP.
The acquisition of a majority stake in GRP by Searchlight Capital Partners remains subject to regulatory approval.
Once completed, Mike Bruce, Group Managing Director, will become Group Chief Executive of the brokerage.
Founder David Margrett is set to take on the role of non-executive Chairman, while GRP’s other founder Peter Cullum will stay on the Board as a non-executive Director.
GRP was founded in 2013 and has grown both organically and through acquisitions to become the UK’s second largest independent insurance intermediary, with Gross Written Premium approaching £800 million and more than 1,600 employees.
GRP founders Peter Cullum CBE, Executive Chairman and David Margrett, Group Chief Executive commented, “We are both immensely proud of the business we have helped build from a standing start. In little over six years, it has grown to become one of the largest insurance intermediaries in the UK.
“We are delighted that Searchlight will become the new majority shareholder in GRP. Searchlight is an ideal partner and it was obvious from an early stage that its ambition for the business and understanding of the opportunity was closely aligned with the Group’s values and vision.”
Mike Bruce, future GRP Group Chief Executive, added, “Partnering with Searchlight enables us to continue to capitalise on the considerable market opportunity ahead and their experience and relationships will be invaluable to GRP in executing our acquisition-led growth strategy. The power of this strategy is demonstrated by the quality of the businesses we have acquired and the talented people who have joined GRP through these acquisitions. We are proud that our scalable platform attracts entrepreneurial companies that want to join GRP to accelerate their growth and enhance the value proposition that they can provide to their customers. We look forward to working closely with Searchlight to build on GRP’s rapid development and continue GRP’s ambitious growth journey.”
Andrew Frey, Partner at Searchlight, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with GRP and its management team. The Group’s differentiated ‘hub and spoke’ model and entrepreneurial, owner-driver culture has enabled GRP to build a leading market position through impressive growth. By combining local presence with deep data-driven expertise, GRP offers a better product set and a superior service to its clients. This customer centric culture is at the heart of our investment thesis and our high confidence in the Group’s exciting future. We look forward to partnering with Peter, David, Mike, Penta and the entire GRP team to drive the next chapter of GRP’s success.”
Oliver Haarmann, Founding Partner at Searchlight, also said, “We look forward to working with GRP to accelerate its growth in a highly fragmented industry through Searchlight’s deep investment, industry and operational expertise, as well as our transatlantic presence.”
Steven Scott, Founding Partner at Penta Capital, stated, “We have enjoyed working with the GRP team, jointly funding the business with Peter Cullum and management from effectively a start-up to one of the largest independent UK brokers today. Peter, David and the team have created a business of scale in each of its chosen markets which has a terrific track-record of consistent and profitable growth. We are pleased to remain investors in the next stage and look forward to working with Searchlight on the next phase of growth for GRP and the team.”
The company operates in the retail broking, specialist MGA and Lloyd’s segments of the market, positioning it across multiple points in the distribution chain to better assist its clients.
Searchlight is a global private investment firm with an equity and opportunities focus, managing more than $7 billion in assets and with offices in New York, London and Toronto.
