Chris Giles, the former chief executive of Giles Insurance Brokers and co-founder of PIB Group, died on November 8 at the London Clinic hospital. He was 62. The Racing Post, which broke the news, reported the cause of death as aspiration pneumonia.
He is survived by his wife Debora, five children, his parents, and grandchildren. A funeral service will take place on December 10 at Ayr Crematorium.
When Chris and his brother Nick took over management of Giles Insurance Brokers from their father Michael in 1995, the Irvine-based firm was a regional operation with a small number of branches. Over the following decade, Giles built it into one of the UK’s most active regional consolidators, with more than 600 employees across 30 locations by the time of the Charterhouse investment, using successive rounds of private equity backing to accelerate an acquisition-led growth strategy.
A management buyout in 2006, backed by Gresham Private Equity, was followed by a deal with Charterhouse Capital Partners in 2008 that valued the business at £500 million, providing the firepower for a sustained national expansion drive. Giles stepped back from the chief executive role in 2012, handing over to Brendan McManus, and became group chairman. Arthur J. Gallagher acquired the business in 2013.
Giles did not step back from the market for long. PIB Group was founded in 2014 and launched in 2015 with Carlyle Group backing, with Giles among the founding investors. PIB was built on the same conviction that had driven Giles Insurance: the fragmented UK regional broking market offered significant room for consolidation. It went on to become one of the sector’s largest independent intermediaries, completing a record 27 acquisitions in 2025 alone.
Giles served as PIB’s non-executive chairman until 2021, when Apax Partners acquired a majority stake from Carlyle. He stepped down from the board at that point, though he retained an interest in the business.
PIB said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Chris Giles, former chairman of PIB Group. Chris played a fundamental role in the creation of PIB Group and made an invaluable contribution to the business during its formative years. Chris will be remembered for his significant contribution to PIB and the wider insurance broking industry, and will be greatly missed by those who knew and worked with him.”
Paul Meehan, former chief executive of Smart and Cook, described him as “a great friend, industry colleague and formidable competitor.”
Outside insurance, Giles was a prominent racehorse owner whose pink and purple silks were carried by several top-class horses, including Zarkandar, Silviniaco Conti, and Tiggy Wiggy, most of which he owned in partnership.
