Howden accelerates Asia expansion with acquisition of marine specialist

Global broker  Howden has further strengthened its capabilities across Asia with the acquisition of a specialist insurance broker in Hong Kong.

Howden has acquired the assets of Expat Marine (EML), which provides employee benefits and general insurance products and advice to clients in Hong Kong.

The acquisition reinforces Howden’s commitment to the Hong Kong market and its ongoing strategy to “invest in expertise” to deliver optimised re/insurance solutions that are adapted to clients’ needs.

EML caters for the insurance and risk management needs of individuals and small businesses, with an emphasis on fine art insurance, yachts and pleasure craft. As a Lloyd’s coverholder, EML complements Howden’s existing expertise and product range, it said.

Mark Johnson (pictured), chief executive officer of Howden Hong Kong, said: “EML will further strengthen Howden Asia’s spectrum of capabilities across a wide range of specialty lines, while EML’s clients will benefit from Howden’s international platform, talent and data and analytics capability.

“Peter McTavish has built a highly respected business with long-term links to the Hong Kong business community and his business is completely focused on clients’ needs and providing high levels of personal service. This deal marries two very complementary companies with people and clients at its core.”

Julian Franzman, regional head of Howden Marine Specialty, noted: “This acquisition will strengthen our overall offering for our Marine clients in Hong Kong, and reiterates Howden’s ongoing strategy of empowering local teams to partner with culturally-aligned companies with a shared entrepreneurial culture to enhance our client offering across the globe.”

Peter McTavish, founder and CEO of EML, said: “We chose to join Howden because it is a ‘People First’, employee owned business where colleagues are empowered to deliver exceptional service to clients. As markets develop, our clients will benefit from the expertise and product knowledge of Howden’s international specialty offering and its independent spirit will enable us to continue to focus on the client-centricity and outstanding personal service for which we are known in Hong Kong.”

Goh Chye Huat, regional CEO, Howden Asia, commented: “This is another step in our growth strategy as we continue to increase our breadth and depth of specialism and distribution through collaboration with businesses that lead in their markets and share our vision. EML's commercial portfolio is extremely well matched with Howden Hong Kong’s and this transaction will help us diversify our business, create synergies and enable us to grow more rapidly in Hong Kong.”

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