Three deals in two days adds £4.2m to Chase Templeton income

Completing three deals over two days has seen acquisitive private medical insurance specialist Chase Templeton secure an additional £4.2m in annual premium income.

The fast growing intermediary’s deals team, headed up by mergers and acquisitions director Jeff Tate, sealed a trio of purchases at the end of last week as the company continues to pursue its successful “buy and build” strategy.

This saw it buying long established Bedfordshire consultancy Howill Group, which traded as Medisearch Direct, Chelmsford’s Simply Assured, and Heath Assured (Scotland) of Stenhousemuir.

The acquisitions will boost both Chase Templeton’s Individuals business based in Bridgwater and its SME-focused corporate operation which is housed at its headquarters in Blackburn.

“Once again we identified intermediaries who were looking to realise the true value of their assets and whose operations offered an excellent fit with our own business and ambitions,” said Jeff Tate. “Simply Assured and Health Assured both manage strong SME books whilst Medisearch Direct bring an excellent Individual client base to the party.”

He added that the company, which is backed by Manchester’s Palatine Private Equity and has a line of finance to fund acquisitions, has further deals pipelined as the company continues its consolidation of the market.

The new acquisitions bring to 23 the number completed in 2014 and which have taken Chase Templeton’s annual premium income to well over £100m, with its turnover now well in excess of £13m. To manage integration of acquired businesses the company has increased its staff numbers to nearly 70 and has plans to recruit further this year. “The investment we’re making is not just in cost of acquisition. We have established a model which requires us not only to acquire businesses but to put in place the staff, resources and processes to effectively service and retain their clients,” said chief executive officer Warren Dickson. “That means in particular recruiting additional talented and dedicated employees.”