Hyperion enjoys solid growth, seeks more acquisitions in 2017

Intermediary Hyperion Insurance Group enjoyed strong growth in its full year ending September 30, 2016 with revenues increasing by 45 percent to £434 million compared with £299 million in 2015.

The company’s revenues have been boosted in part by its acquisition of RKH Holdings, which it completed in April 2015.

But costs associated with this deal also meant the company reported an IFRS accounting loss of £38 million for 2016. The accounting loss reflects £76 million in respect of the deferred consideration payable to RKH employee shareholders and £38 million for depreciation and amortisation plus other items.

Measuring the company’s profitability in another way, its EBITDA also increased substantially to £103 million compared with £57 million the year before.

The company also said it has made progress on restructuring the company to make it more operationally efficient.

From 1 October 2016, the Group fully aligned its management structure to three pillars: Howden, being retail broking; RKH Group, being specialty and reinsurance broking; and DUAL, the Group’s MGA operations.

Core support services have been delivered through a single consolidated service company, Hyperion Services, from 1 October 2016.

Hyperion added that it continues to “seek strategic partnerships, to make acquisitions, and to launch operations where likeminded businesses and people will bring specialist expertise to the Group, give geographic reach in key territories, and make a difference to clients.”

In the 12 month period to September 2016, the company acquired 75 percent of Chelsea Risk Management, a marine insurance agency based in San Francisco which specialises in coverage for ports, terminals and logistics operators; 100 percent of PMG Financial Services, the UK’s largest independent specialist surety broker; expanded its Iberoamerican retail broking operations with the launch of

Howden Portugal; and acquired a majority stake in Euroassekuranz Versicherungsmakler, a German independent retail insurance broker.

David Howden, CEO, said: “The effort to shape, support and position the significantly larger Hyperion Group for the future has been a key focus for the Group in 2016. We are now structured, with our three arms of Howden, RKH and DUAL, to harness the expertise and agility of the Group to deliver the best for our clients, partners, employees and shareholders, and to take Hyperion to the next level.

“Against the backdrop of political events of the last six months, the value of the natural hedge provided by our balanced model and geographic and product diversification is clearer than ever.

“We are well positioned in the face of external factors and our differentiated platform and employee-ownership model make Hyperion a unique place to work. I am delighted that we continue to attract some of the brightest talent from inside and outside the industry.

“I have long said that it is the quality of our people that make this Group stand out – they are the ones who deliver the organic growth that is the foundation of the business – and I am delighted that we are now the eighth largest employee-owned company in the UK with more than 700 employee shareholders in the Group and its subsidiaries.”

Dominic Collins, chairman, added: “Integrating the Hyperion and RKH Groups quickly and efficiently to allow our businesses to continue to deliver growth and profitability has been critical. I am pleased that the significant efforts of those involved have allowed the Group to deliver a strong underlying performance whilst we continue to invest in the platform for the future, and my thanks go to all our employees for their efforts.”

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