Northern Ireland headquartered Precise Protect serves some 37,000 clients across the UK with a wide range of insurance products, including life and critical illness cover, private medical insurance, personal injury and income protection.
They have been bought by London-listed investment group Tavistock Investments for £7 million. The move will see 200 advisors and other staff at Precise Protect join Tavistock, which is on the acquisition trail having divested its investment management business last year.
A team from the firm advised Precise Protect on the acquisition:
Corporate – Dan Bisby, Partner and Alex Aitken, Solicitor
Employment – Annie Gray, Partner
Tax – John Feaster, Partner
Last year, the firm reported £1.45m profit before tax with a turnover of £6.5m and net assets of £1.23m.
“Precise Protect’s revenues and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) have grown rapidly and we remain excited about its prospects,” Tony Close, Precise Protect’s Managing Director, said. “However, we are very pleased to be joining the Tavistock group which will enable us to offer a much wider range of services to our clients, as well as deliver a development pathway for advisers and career development opportunities for staff.”
A total of £2.75 million of the £7 million price tag will be paid now, as well as consideration shares, shares in Tavistock issued to Precise Protect as part of the consideration for the purchase. The remaining £4 million will be payable in three annual installments subject to the future performance of the business.
Brian Raven, Tavistock’s Chief Executive, said there are considerable synergies in the deal. “We are delighted to welcome Tony and his team into the group and to add Precise Protect’s products to the wider group’s service proposition,” he said. “We look forward to benefitting from numerous synergies, including operational cost savings, increased profitability and new business leads.”
As a result of the purchase, the Tavistock group will have over 400 advisers servicing over 110,000 private clients with estimated assets over £5bn.