Gallagher UK, which owns Pen Underwriting, performed ‘excellently’ in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Europe, Middle East, and Asia chief executive Simon Matson.
The CEO spoke about the broking and underwriting results from Britain following Gallagher’s release of the wider group’s fourth quarter and full year numbers for 2022.
“Our performance in the last quarter of 2022 was excellent with Gallagher’s UK business delivering very strong organic growth at 17%,” noted the chief executive. “This was driven by continued new business growth and excellent retention of existing clients and builds on the 15% organic figure we announced in October 2022.”
The retail division, which also covers Ireland, delivered strong organic revenue growth for the year, said Matson. He highlighted the First Ireland acquisition, which is aimed at serving as a growth “springboard”.
Matson went on to report: “Our specialty division had an excellent quarter and capped off an exceptional performance over the course of the year.
“In terms of particular successes, Q4 is always a busy time for our aerospace practice with many renewals taking place, and the team has done an outstanding job in winning new clients and retaining existing customers in a challenging market. Construction and property & casualty also delivered first-rate performances in terms of organic growth.”
Talking about Pen Underwriting, the CEO pointed to the strategic partnership with Paladin Cyber.
“Cybercrime continues to be a major risk to UK businesses,” he declared, “and these sorts of risk management tools are increasingly important for firms to prevent them from falling victim to an attack.
“Overall, the Pen business is firmly on track to achieve its strategic ambition to be a £1 billion GWP (gross written premium) by 2026.”
Matson said he was “exceptionally grateful” for the hard work of all Gallagher UK colleagues.
