Aston Lark – the Chartered insurance broker and employee benefits advisor that completed eight acquisitions last year and has so far undertaken an additional 17 this year – has announced its financial results for 2020.
Now manned by more than 1,500 people in over 50 offices in the UK and Ireland, Aston Lark saw its revenue grow 28% to £91.7 million in the period. On a reported basis, the group’s underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation rose 26%.
Core organic commission and fee growth, meanwhile, stood at 4.4%. Aston Lark highlighted the positive result, given the double whammy of hardening rates in certain sectors and the economic environment during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are delighted with the progress we have made since having secured Aston Lark’s independence in September 2019,” commented group chief executive Peter Blanc (pictured).
“The support of both Goldman Sachs and Bowmark [Capital] has provided a long-term platform for the group’s growth plans that has been underpinned by the acquisitions we have completed to date and the healthy pipeline in train.”
The Aston Lark boss also pointed to the key appointments made last year, as well as the company’s “strong resilience” as reflected in its trading performance.
Blanc noted: “To supplement our growth plans, we also made investment in our senior management team, recruiting Robert Kennedy and Mark Nolan as CEO and CFO respectively in Ireland, and Warren Dickson as UK retail managing director.
“Earlier in the year in January 2020, we also strengthened the group’s executive team with the appointment of Ian Jacob as our new group chief risk officer to ensure that governance and oversight of the business remains proportionate to our growth plans.”
The goal, said the CEO, is to create the UK’s most trusted Chartered insurance broker.
Aston Lark’s expertise spans all commercial sectors, industry-specific schemes, employee benefits consultancy, as well as private client solutions. It currently looks after a 200,000-strong client base with gross written premium at £900 million.
