Synova buys insurance broker JM Glendinning

Alessia Argentieri
23 November 2020

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Synova Capital has acquired UK-based insurance broker JM Glendinning (JMG).

Synova invested in the company via its fourth fund, which closed on its £365m hard-cap in June 2019, after less than three months on the road. The fund typically targets businesses with enterprise values of £30-150m, operating across the business services, financial services, healthcare, education and technology sectors.

The acquisition of JMG was made by the GP alongside company CEO Nick Houghton.

As part of the transaction, Tim Johnson, former CEO of insurance broker Stackhouse Poland, has joined the board of JMG as executive chair, while Stackhouse Poland founder Jeremy Cary has joined as a board adviser. Stackhouse Poland was a portfolio company of Synova, which exited the investment in January 2019 when it sold the company to AJ Gallagher, generating a 5.6x return.

Synova intends to support JMG in its expansion plans, supplementing its organic growth with a series of complementary strategic acquisitions, with the aim of increasing the business fourfold over the next five years.

Company
Established in 1972, JMG is an insurance broker specialising in business and personal insurance, claims management, health and safety consultancy, and employment law consultancy.

The company places around £45m of premium annually, and offers a broad product capability to a diversified client base, supported by blue-chip insurers.

JMG is headquartered in Leeds and operates from six offices across the UK.

People
JM Glendinning – Nick Houghton (CEO).
Synova Capital – David Menton (managing partner).

Advisers
Equity – Grant Thornton (financial due diligence); Osborne Clarke (legal); KPMG (corporate finance).
Company – Addleshaw Goddard (legal); Intuitus (IT due diligence).