IMAS acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Brown Shipley & Co (Brown Shipley) on the sale of its employee benefits consultancy business to Beckett Investment Management Group (Becketts).

Brown Shipley is a private banking group and member of the pan-European Quintet Private Bank network, providing integrated wealth planning, investment management and lending to customers in the UK. It inherited the employee benefits business, which focuses on providing advice to SMEs on areas such as workplace pension schemes, group risk, private medical insurance and flexible benefits, in connection with its acquisition of the Cambridge-based wealth manager NW Brown in June 2019.

Operating from four offices in East Anglia and the Midlands, Becketts is a privately-owned group with 73 staff providing financial planning and investment management services to private clients and employee benefits consulting and risk protection to corporate clients. The acquisition will help Becketts boost its presence in Norwich and expand its corporate client base across the East.

IMAS acted as the sole financial adviser to Risk Solutions Group Limited (“RSG”) and its subsidiary Property Insurance Initiatives Limited (“Pii”) on its sale to Stackhouse Poland Group.

Pii is a real estate insurance specialist, established in 2012 and comprises a team who are able to advise on all aspects of property risk, including property owners, terrorism, construction risks, legal indemnity policies, and warranty and indemnity insurance as well as having a key interest in environmental risk insurance.

Brett Sainty, CEO of Pii, said: “Stackhouse Poland is a respected contributor to the UK insurance market, and combining our propositions is a natural fit. The acquisition is an important part of our growth strategy, allowing us to compete at the top of the market on a greater scale.”

Stackhouse Poland is a leading Private Client and specialist Commercial broker. It has a stated objective to grow organically and also through the acquisition of likeminded businesses specialising in the same sectors namely, Private Client, Real Estate, Professional Risks, Marine, Commercial and SME, Community and Private Health & Protection.

IMAS was retained to advise on a transaction that maximised value for RSG while providing Pii’s management team with an environment in which they could continue to develop and progress their careers. This included conducting a targeted and competitive process and assisting the company in developing robust earnings and balance sheet modelling, as well as providing detailed advice on a wide range of commercial and technical points in the negotiations.