Latest news with #DavidHowden
Telegraph
05-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
I'm the man whose name is all over the British and Irish Lions shirt
Let's get straight to the point, I say to David Howden. What is it like to have your surname emblazoned across the front of the British and Irish Lions jersey? The 61-year-old chief executive of Howden, the global insurance company he founded 'with three men and a dog' in 1994, is sitting in his office with its spectacular City of London views and fizzing with the kind of enthusiasm you might expect from a player named on Thursday in Andy Farrell's squad bound for Australia this summer. The company signed a four-year deal last July to become principal partner with the Lions, including the inaugural women's tour to New Zealand in 2027, which includes prized sponsorship of the jersey that will be worn by the team and also many of the tens of thousands of fans who are travelling to Australia for the nine-game tour that begins next month. But what fascinates me is what it feels like for Howden to have his own surname on the shirt, beyond the corporate association, and the story behind his decision to invest in the Lions brand. 'When I saw the shirt as it was unveiled at an event on Oxford Street with Andy, it was a very emotional moment,' he says. 'I just went: 'Wow! That's the new Lions shirt'. 'It is an amazing feeling. But in some ways, it is a lot more than the shirt. I am not going to deny that it makes you feel good, and it makes you feel proud and think about the journey we have been on. Would I ever have thought it was possible? No, but there is a lot more behind it. 'Someone once said early on that you need to earn the right to be on the Lions shirt. Speak to any player about what it means to be a Lion and being on the tour. It is a very special team, and I think if you are going to have the audacity to say 'I want my name on the shirt', you have to have a reason for doing it.' It is a story that began when he was a 15-year-old, playing on the left wing for the Colts rugby team at Radley College in Oxfordshire. 'I received a hospital pass during a match,' he recalls. 'Someone took my shoulder going that way, someone took my legs going the other way and I hit the ground and I couldn't get up. When you are a 15-year-old that feels quite weird. I had broken my back.' Howden had to undergo spinal fusion surgery at an orthopaedic unit in Oxford. The operation was successful, but he never played contact sport again. 'Rugby was my sport, my passion,' he adds. 'I am half-Scots and half-Welsh so I have had some good years and some bad years [as a supporter] – more bad than good,' he adds with an infectious cackle. 'When I couldn't play sport any more, I left school at 16 because that was my passion and went to try to find a job in the City.' Tragedy his driving force He arrived in London with little to his name. His father had died when he was just seven and he says his family lost almost all of their estate because of inheritance tax at the time when there were death duties between husbands and wives. They had to sell their family home in Oxford and move up to the village of Thoralby in north Yorkshire. 'When I broke my back playing rugby, I thought to myself, 'let's go and start working'. Life is all about experiences. The tragedy of losing my father may be one thing but the bright side is that perhaps it gave me the energy and drive to get what you thought you had in the past.' His great-great-great grandfather, Alexander Howden, had founded an insurance brokerage and he followed suit into the industry, but at the time the big US companies were buying up the London independents. In 1994 he decided to set up his own company, with a mission to build a global London broker that would remain independent. 'There were just three of us,' he recalls. 'My first wife had left me so I brought my dog called Flight to the office and we wanted to build a business around people and over the last 30 years we have built it into a global business, we now employ 22,000 people in 55 countries. We employ 10,000 people in the UK but no-one knows who we are. We don't make effing kitchens! 'We needed to build our brand, and the Lions opportunity was perfect. We are a great British and Irish business; we have got offices all over Ireland but are also very international. The Lions is a great British and Irish business and incredibly international. They are the pinnacle of the best and we think that we are too. It seemed absolutely natural to want to associate with them. 'When the opportunity came, the fact that women's rugby is coming on so strongly and we can also sponsor the first ever women's tour was the icing on the cake. Especially for a man with three daughters!' Howden is proud to point out that one of his employees is the great-great grandson of Bob Burnet, who played, alongside his brother Willie, on the inaugural Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1888. Howden says the company's links with rugby are already strong and growing as title partner of the Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens and the Howden Melrose Sevens and it has been supporting 130 grassroots clubs, from boot donation stations to providing insurance. And he now intends to bring the energy and drive to the sponsorship of the Lions deal. 'We are going to get artists to paint an incredible mural in Whitechapel when the squad is announced and have the names painted in,' he adds. 'And we are going to build pubs in Australia called the 'Howden Arms' and have beer mats that are a bit like trump cards, with the details of each player on them. 'They will be traditional English pubs with an Australian twist and the pub's sign is going to be an image of my dog Flight. I want a fun atmosphere. This is definitely going to be about more than my name on the shirt.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Howden to take over UK insurer Barnett Waddingham
Reinsurer Howden has agreed to acquire Barnett Waddingham, a UK-based consultancy that provides insurance, risk, pensions and investment services. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The deal is expected to enhance Howden's pension and related advice capabilities. Howden said the deal will boost its global presence, doubling the size of its Employee Benefits business with 4,000 new experts. The combined workforce will deliver an estimated £500m ($644.86m) in global revenue, the company added. With this acquisition, Howden and Barnett Waddingham will collectively provide a full spectrum of employee benefits and pensions advisory services. These services will be available to a client base including multinational corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, and entities within the private and public sectors. Additionally, individual clients will have access to health, life and specialised pension products. Howden CEO David Howden said: 'In our journey to build a global broker we recognise the need to create a world-class employee benefits business for our clients. 'Under Glenn Thomas' leadership since 2018, our Employee Benefits division has delivered a remarkable 52% compound annual growth rate. Expanding our pensions advisory and administration capability is crucial to our long-term, global growth plans, and Barnett Waddingham provides a fantastic platform to build our capability for clients around the world. 'Critically, Barnett Waddingham's working partners will reinvest significantly into Howden, underlining their commitment to a long-term future with us, and delivering extraordinary alignment for our future ambitions,' he added. Howden UK health & employee benefits CEO and global practice leader Glenn Thomas added: 'Barnett Waddingham's extensive pensions expertise, together with Howden's market leading presence in the health and employee benefits market, creates a full-service proposition and one of the largest pensions and employee benefits consultancies in the UK, with one of the most extensive global footprints in the market.' Barnett Waddingham senior partner Andrew Vaughan stated: "We are really excited to join Howden because of its commitment to the UK market, and its unique culture. Being part of Howden also strengthens our ability to deliver even greater value to our risk, pensions, investment and insurance clients through enhanced solutions, including our tech-enabled capabilities, and access to global expertise. "As we reflect on 35 years of continuous growth and development at Barnett Waddingham, we are proud of the heritage and principles that have made us who we are – people-centricity, partnering with clients and the delivery of high-quality services.' Last month, Howden purchased Forbes Insurance and the business portfolio from Hill Aviation Insurance Services. Both entities have been rebranded as Howden, leading to the creation of a specialist aviation division within Howden UK & Ireland. "Howden to take over UK insurer Barnett Waddingham " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Sky News
14-03-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Howden US takeover to pave way for $30bn stock market float
Howden, the British insurance broker, is closing in on a $10bn (£7.7bn) takeover of a US-based rival that will pave the way for an eventual stock market flotation that could value it at in excess of $30bn. (£23.2bn) Sky News has learnt that Howden is targeting a binding agreement to acquire Risk Strategies, which is backed by investment firm Kelso, by the end of this month. The estimated $10bn purchase price would be financed in part by a share sale that could be worth in the region of $4bn (£3.1bn), according to banking sources. Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investment fund, and Hg Capital, an existing Howden shareholder, would inject roughly $2bn (£1.5bn) each of equity into the London-based business, the bankers added. If completed, the deal would be a landmark one for Howden and its eponymous founder, David Howden, who has made no secret of his interest in a major deal to facilitate its entry into the US retail insurance market. The new equity would be invested in Howden at a valuation of approximately $20bn, bankers said, implying an aggregate valuation for the combined group of about $30bn. A major US acquisition would clear a path to a US stock market listing in between one and three years' time, with 2027 the most likely date, according to insurance industry executives. Barclays and Morgan Stanley are understood to be advising Howden on the talks, while Evercore is said to be acting for Kelso and Risk Strategies. One source said the timetable for announcing the Risk Strategies deal was not yet finalised and could slip into next month.
