C-Suite - Broker: Where next for broker consolidation?

Most of the large regional commercial distributors have either found a home or do not want a new home yet.

Many of the second tier London Market brokers are struggling to figure out what to do next. They are challenged by the fact they are too small to float, but merging with another similar firm has inherent challenges – particularly in the wholesale world. Meanwhile, expanding into new sectors and distribution types, which are not core to their skill-set, is often a leap into the unknown.

So, what does this leave for acquisition? Lots of smaller or niche brokers with great expertise and specialist knowledge, which at some stage will struggle with regulation, investment, growth, technology, will need to find a suitable home to help develop their business and their aspirations.

This caused me to reflect on Aon and how we have grown. Aon is the ultimate consolidator with more than 450 acquisitions over 10 years – acquisitions are in our DNA. We have also been successful in integrating and establishing our culture, creating Aon United and empowering results for our clients.

Our recent purchase of Lorica Employee Benefits confirmed our commitment to the UK market. Our global and regional acquisitions have enabled us to sharpen our focus on two key segments, risk and people. We are keen to expand into smaller and niche businesses where client intimacy and understanding is paramount.

This is why the acquisition trail is part of our ongoing strategy to develop and grow our offering in the UK. It is in our nature to be acquisitive and we look forward to developing opportunities with other companies of all shapes and sizes for mutual benefit.

Ultimately, our industry is about our capabilities, insightful data, cutting edge technology and how we meet our clients’ needs.

In an ever-changing world, greater emerging risks create opportunity and at Aon, our acquisitive nature means we are striving to continually offering market leading solutions for the benefit of our industry.

Chris Lee Smith
Chief operating officer, Aon Risk Solutions UK

This article was published in the 3 July edition of Post magazine.