Resilium CEO and MD Adrian Kitchin says the strategic investment from Ardonagh Group - the UK’s largest independent insurance broker - is a boost to the authorised representative (AR) network’s growth plans.

As insuranceNEWS.com.au reported last week, Ardonagh is now the majority shareholder in Resilium following the investment deal between the two parties. The terms of the transaction are confidential.

Mr Kitchin retains his roles under the new ownership structure.

“For Resilium, it’s going to take us forward,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “It will allow us to achieve growth through a buy-to-build strategy whilst continuing to focus on the organic growth in our business.

“We’re very excited. It allows us to realise the full potential of the Resilium network in Australia.”

He says Australia “has weathered COVID probably better than most other economies in the world” which augurs well for the business.

“We are very confident that consumer sentiment will continue to increase particularly as the rate of joblessness falls, so we have a lot of confidence about the future for Resilium,” he said.

Industry identity Paul Lynam has been appointed as Chairman, complementing the existing executive team led by Mr Kitchin, Sales and Distribution Director Ben Hastie and Operations and Compliance Director Drue Castanelli.

Mr Lynam has 30 years’ experience in the insurance market across broking and underwriting and will oversee the mergers and acquisitions pipeline on behalf of the group. He will also work with Mr Kitchin and the team to leverage opportunities for Ardonagh’s wider portfolio within Australia

Ardonagh has pro-forma gross written premium in excess of $10.7 billion and pro-forma income of more than $1.4 billion, driven by mergers and acquisitions as well as underlying organic growth.

“This strategic backing from Ardonagh will turbo-charge Resilium’s trajectory, giving us access to the capital and resources to explore strategic, complementary acquisitions across the country while also continuing to grow organically,” Mr Kitchin said last week in a statement.

“With access to the full suite of Ardonagh’s assets including technology, facilities and Lloyd’s market access, the expanded value proposition for our authorised representatives enables us to cement Resilium’s status as the preeminent Australian general insurance AR network of choice.”

Ardonagh Group CEO David Ross says Resilium will be the “the centerpiece of Ardonagh’s Australian operations” as the UK broker looks to grow its presence in this part of the world.