Taking ownership

Continuity, not consolidation, will help secure a lasting legacy, with employees taking a greater share of the business – but it will need a mindset change, writes James Sharp

After the purchase of Giles by Arthur J. Gallagher, one can sense a distinct fin de siècle whiff as we draw close to the end of the consolidation era. Once again, we have a market comprising of bigger brokers, smaller brokers and some medium-sized brokers in between.

Twenty years ago it was possible to buy mailing lists of UK brokers that numbered about 12,000. And, even allowing for a few duplicates and so forth, it was generally accepted that there were around 10,000 to play with.

Today, there