we receive e we publish the following press release issued by howden.
Il Howden group announces financial results for the year ended September 30, 2024.
Highlights
- Solid financial performance | Adjusted revenue increased 23% to £3.010 million (£2.442 million in the previous year) with organic growth of 15% (13% in the previous year). Adjusted consolidated EBITDA reached £922,2 million (£780 million in 2023) with an Adjusted consolidated EBITDA Margin broadly stable at 31% (32% in 2023).
- Growth in all business segments | Organic turnover in insurance brokerage increased by 14%. Reinsurance increased by 30%. Organic growth for DUAL (Managing General Agent of the Group) was 6%.
- New talent contributed 30% of organic revenue growth |New teams drove growth across all product lines, including Treaty Reinsurance, Howden Re Programs, Sport & Entertainment, Aviation, Restructuring and Resolution and Construction. We welcomed new talent in Australia, Greece, the Middle East, Singapore and Japan.
- 65 strategic acquisitions| We continued to build leadership positions in key markets, particularly in Europe, where we completed 28 deals. Highlights included the acquisition of VLC, a large broker in the Netherlands, North Risk in Denmark – marking our entry into that country – and AGEO in France. Our global presence grew to include 55 countries.
- Continued support from our investors and the debt capital markets | During 2024, we initiated a series of financings, including: a full refinancing and maturity extension in February; the launch of a high yield bond; two capacity increases to the Revolving Credit Facility; a new DDTL credit facility to fund investment activity; and multiple down-pricings.
- In 2024, a further 650 employees became new Howden shareholders | The total number of employee shareholders has now risen to 5.300.
David Howden, founder and CEO of the Group, commented: “Our 30th year has proven to be a year to remember. We broke the £3 billion revenue barrier, delivered double-digit organic growth for the fourth year running and a 40% revenue CAGR over the same period. What’s our secret? The quality of our amazing people. Our track record of growth is built on our ability to attract and retain the best. Our talent drives our performance, helping us win new customers and build a long-term sustainable business, with employee ownership as a key differentiator, and now with a company value approaching £20 billion. I’m incredibly excited about the future. Looking ahead, we will continue to build on our impressive track record, maintaining a focus on strong organic growth, strategic M&A, investment in talent and operational excellence. This will ensure we can grow even faster, ready to deliver on our ambitious plans. We’ve turned 30 and we’re just getting started.”
“We are proud – he said Federico Casini, CEO of Howden in Italy – to have contributed to the extraordinary performance of the Group in the world also in 2024. Organic growth, financial performance, acquisitions of excellent companies in the area, the attraction of the best talents have led Howden to a leadership position also on the Italian market in just a few years, thanks to the driving values of the Group such as the unique attention to people and employee shareholding”.
Operational Highlights
David Shalders has joined the Group as COO and as a member of both the Board and senior management team. His appointment will help embed operational excellence across the Group, enabling us to grow faster.
Total number of employees: currently 20.000.
Sponsorship partnerships have amplified our brand awareness around the world and our commitment to the sports, entertainment and equestrian sectors, including through: the British & Irish Lions rugby team, horse racing with the Victoria Racing Club in Australia and the Bahrain Turf Club and, from early 2025, the Emirates GBR team in the SailGP sailing competition.
Highlights and activities by business segment
Significant activity across all business segments, in the implementation of the strategy aimed at expanding our geographical presence, strengthening and diversifying our specialist proposition through M&A and attracting new talent.
Insurance brokerage
Organic growth of 14% driven by growth in Retail and Specialty, in Europe and Asia Pacific.
We entered new markets in Denmark, with the acquisition of North Risk, which completes our presence in the Nordic region, and in Luxembourg, with the addition of United Brokers. The acquisition of VLC in the Netherlands has enabled us to build a significant position in this key European market, the acquisition of AGEO has increased our presence in France and our expertise in Employee Benefits. We also entered Peru, a new market, with the acquisition of Contacto, and the Japanese market with the launch of reinsurance and retail offerings.
We launched a first-of-its-kind Red Sea War Protection Cargo Facility to protect vessels and strengthen global supply chains, and Cyber Plus, a new IT product that expands access and simplifies the purchasing process for SMEs.
We entered the captive management market through the acquisition of ARM Holdings, strengthening our capabilities for the benefit of our multinational clients.
Senior hires include Jan Tinus Larsen as CEO of Howden Norway, Kentaro Tada as CEO of Howden Japan and Takuya Aibe to lead Howden Japan’s retail operations.
Reinsurance
Organic growth of 30%, driven by strong performance from the Treaty business in London and North America, Howden Re programmes and the Binder business.
Increased presence in International Reinsurance with global hires and offices in Japan, Hamburg and Zurich, including the acquisition of specialist reinsurance broker Haakon, which becomes Howden Switzerland. Appointment of David Hearn as Chairman, Global Clients Strategy.
Strong commercial, operational and capacity growth, including investments in information technology, property and casualty reinsurance and data collection and analytics globally.
Subscription
DUAL delivered organic growth of 6%, driven by strong growth in new ventures in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region (mainly New Zealand), as well as in North America (Surety) and UK retail.
DUAL Australia has announced it will take over the management of a AUD50 million IP portfolio from Allianz, while DUAL Europe has announced the acquisition of Swiss Re’s Genoa-based Marine team, including the associated EUR150 million Marine portfolio.
Simon McGinn has joined the team as CEO of DUAL UK, Marielena Rodrigues Forero as CEO of DUAL Latin America and David Harries as DUAL Group Head of Underwriting.
Capital management
We continue to be well supported by the debt capital markets:
Strong financial market conditions in February 2024 enabled us to complete a $5 billion refinancing that enabled us to raise additional debt capital, refinance our existing debt in the term loan market and diversify our funding sources by launching a high yield bond, achieving extended maturities and reducing our weighted average cost of borrowing.
In August 2024, we successfully completed a repricing of our Tranche B of the $1.074 million Term Loan due 2030. We entered into a new DDTL credit facility with a capacity of $950 million, which we drew down for the first time in September 2024. Subsequently to the end of the year, we increased the RCF capacity by £135 million to £765 million.
We also successfully completed a post-fiscal year-end repricing in December 2024, repricing our existing Term Loan B tranches of $2.925 million and €900 million, reducing margins and increasing the dollar tranche by an additional $200 million.
The Group's ratings were affirmed at B2 Stable (Moody's) and B Stable (S&P), maintaining one of the best Moody's and S&P ratings among all leveraged brokers.
Climate Risk & Resilience
Our Climate Risk & Resilience capability continues to grow a competent, full-spectrum practice, integrating our offerings across all Specialties and Countries. Highlights include:
- Launching a first-of-its-kind carbon capture and storage facility to support the growth of the global carbon market.
- The world first of introducing a guarantee and compensation policy for carbon credits.
- Partnering with Boston Consulting Group to co-publish new research on the role of insurance in enabling the climate transition.
- Launch of the Microsoft-supported Howden Resilience Laboratory to measure and assess climate risks.
Our charity, the Howden Foundation, has distributed over £1m to support climate resilience initiatives in the Global South, including a pioneering financial product that protects female workers in India from extreme heat, in partnership with Climate Resilience for All.
We rallied the insurance industry to launch Humanity Insured, a global nonprofit making insurance accessible and affordable for the 3,6 billion people living on the front lines of the climate crisis.
The Howden Group
Howden is a leading global insurance group with employee ownership at its core. Founded in 1994, it provides insurance broking, reinsurance and underwriting services and solutions to clients ranging from private individuals to the largest multinationals. The Group operates in 55 countries worldwide, employing 20.000 people.
In Italy, the company was founded in April 2021 and has had a very rapid growth also thanks to the acquisition of important national brokers. Today it represents the third national broker with 850 people, a presence in 22 cities with 23 offices.
