Aston Lark expands Howden portfolio with latest acquisition

Aston Lark, the Goldman Sachs-backed insurance broking group soon to become part of Howden, has swooped for a specialist corporate insurance broking firm placing “challenging and highly complex risks” into the London market.

Its latest acquisition Braddons has a focus on construction and real estate sectors, growing from the privatisation of the BR rail infrastructure and expansion of private finance initiative projects into schools, universities, the NHS and local authorities.

Established in 1994 by Steve and Catherine Solly, Braddons has since diversified into other niche sectors including recruitment, energy, transportation, life sciences, clinical negligence, fintech and financial institutions, serving a prestigious array of blue-chip clients.

Peter Blanc (pictured), Aston Lark Group CEO, said: “We are delighted that the Braddons team has chosen Aston Lark as their natural home. As our group continues to expand, our strength and breadth of capabilities in specialist corporate insurance and risk management gets ever stronger and this will be further enhanced when we become part of Howden. Braddons is a fabulous addition to the group, and we look forward to working closely with the team to continue to deliver the exceptional service standard their clients are accustomed to.”

Steve Solly, managing director at Braddons, said the firm had been looking to be acquired for two years to gain additional strength to expand its business.

“We place challenging and highly complex risks into the London insurance market. Evolving changes brought about by Brexit and continuous development of new specialist underwriting entities creates a need for us to seek a broader capability to ensure we maintain our ability to deliver solutions that offer the best outcome for our clients,” he added.

“It is imperative to Catherine and me that the company’s ability to service clients remains uncompromised and at the centre of our business. We have very fortunately found that ethos and resource with Aston Lark and Howden, and all of us at Braddons look forward enormously to working with our new colleagues.”

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