In what will be the last Report and Accounts for Aston Lark as a standalone business, the Directors are pleased to announce our results for 2021. The key highlights are:
75% growth in revenue, growing to £160.1m, and 82% growth in EBITD
Organic growth in commission and fees of 11% - a positive result against a backdrop of the economic environment during Covid-19 and a highly competitive market with hardening rates in certain sectors
- 9% like-for-like organic EBITDA growth (including full years of acquisitions)
- 32 acquisitions in 2021 across retail broking, employee benefits, Ireland and the London Market:
- 27 share purchases in 2021
- 4 book purchases in 2021
- 1 trade & assets purchase in 2021
- A further 7 acquisitions to date in 2022
- Many successful integrations of acquired businesses into the main trading entities of the group
- 60% increase in the average number of employees in the group, with headcount growing 65% from 1,083 at the start of the year to 1,783 at December 2021 (and 1,977 as at August 2022)
Peter Blanc, Aston Lark Group CEO, commented: “In April 2022, Aston Lark formally joined Howden Group, becoming part of the most exciting insurance broking and employee benefits business in the market. With over 12,000 employees worldwide, over 3,500 of whom are shareholders, I’m very much looking forward to continuing the growth trajectory as we join forces with A-Plan and the wider Howden business. Our client offering goes from strength to strength!”