Portfolio
Hyperion Insurance Group
| Investment type | Growth Capital |
|---|---|
| Region | UK |
| Status | Current investment |
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Nature of Business
Hyperion Group is an international insurance group which, through its subsidiaries - Howden, CFC Underwriting and DUAL - covers wholesale and retail broking, reinsurance broking and underwriting. It has businesses across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the USA, Latin America and Australia and has 44 offices in 21 countries.
Headquartered in London, Hyperion was founded in 1994 by David Howden and has delivered an impressive average compound annual growth of 35% since its inception. In July 2011, Howden was named Insurance Broker of the Year at the 2011 British Insurance Awards.
Investment Overview
3i acquired a 27% shareholding in Hyperion in March 2008 in a transaction that valued the business in excess of £120m. Since then we have worked closely in partnership with David Howden to use this capital injection to restructure the ownership and focus on international growth.
We have leveraged our sector experience with investments such as ACR and Aspen Re to introduce Hyperion to valuable contacts globally, initially in Dubai and Singapore. We have also worked together on devising strategies for entering new markets. We have introduced fresh talent to the business as well, including Eric Fady, former European CFO at Marsh, as finance director.
In addition, we set aside further funding of up to £25m for strategic acquisitions and in June 2009, Hyperion acquired Hendricks & Co GmbH, a leading German specialist broker, giving it access to a wider EU client base.
We continue to play an active part in Hyperion’s continued international growth, both organically and by acquisitions, through our financial backing, strategic input and our international network. Since our investment in 2008 the business has more than doubled its profitability, with more than 75% through organic international growth.
As a result, Hyperion has now entered the top 20 on Insurance Times' list of Top 50 Brokers and IMAS Corporate Advisers have placed Hyperion in their top ten brokers by overall performance.
