Howden gains thousand brand new shareholders with ‘exceptional’ £32m ISO

International insurance brokerage group  Howden saw 1,000 of its employees participate in its 2023 Internal Share Offer scheme (ISO), becoming shareholders in the company for the first time. With this, the total number of employee shareholders now reaches around 4,500 across 35 countries out of the 50 in which Howden operates.

Howden’s 2023 ISO witnessed nearly 2,000 employees in total invest £32 million in the company. Howden is the fifth largest employee-owned business in the UK.

Howden said its external investors - General Atlantic, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and HgCapital - have committed to extending their investment in Howden for an additional seven years. All three external investors have contributed further funds as part of the recent £1 billion of additional capital for fresh investment.

As part of the ISO initiative, the Group’s Foundation received £1.8 million from the proceeds of share sales.

Will Bloomer, chief corporate & legal affairs officer, said: “Employees from across two thirds of our current country locations participated in the ISO this year, with 43% of investors being from outside the UK. We had investors from Ireland to Indonesia and Sweden to Singapore, demonstrating the broad and international appeal of our share ownership scheme. It is hugely important to us that the ISO is accessible to as many of our employees who wish to participate, where permitted. I’m most proud of the fact that 1,000 employees have joined as brand new shareholders this year, helping to build on the success of our business.”

David Howden (pictured), chief executive officer, Howden Group, said: “The share scheme embodies our founding principles of friendship, trust and independence and the freedom to build a business that is owned and driven by the people that work in it. Our unique capital model and employee ownership is a key differentiator for us in attracting the best, entrepreneurial talent in the market and partnering with culturally-aligned firms to drive sustainable growth. Since the company was founded in 1994, we have reinvested our profits back into the business, rather than paying dividends, and will continue to do so to build the business for the next 29 years.”

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