Little more than one month after the last acquisition announcement, Aston Lark Ireland has today announced the acquisition of Principal Insurance Ireland DAC, further strengthening its already significant personal lines insurance expertise.
Based in Dublin, Principal Insurance was established in 2015 and has since grown to become a leading player in the Irish motorcycle insurance market, with a 30%+ market share.
With a strong customer-first ethos, its 18-strong team of passionate professionals, led by Dave Bowcock and Aly Dixon, have been the driving force behind the growth of the business. With further investment, Principal Insurance Ireland DAC will now look to extend its footprint in motorcycle insurance and seek out diversification opportunities.
Robert Kennedy, Aston Lark Ireland CEO, said: “The management team at Principal Insurance Ireland DAC are well known to us at Aston Lark. Not only have Dave, Aly and the team built a fantastic business, they share our vision of care for customers and staff which makes it a perfect fit. We are very excited to welcome them to Aston Lark.
“This acquisition significantly diversifies our existing personal lines business, broadens our capabilities and will fuel the next chapter of our journey, as we work together to become the leading independent and most trusted insurance broker in Ireland.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Blanc, Aston Lark Group CEO, added: “One of Aston Lark’s stated aims is to grow in a wide array of specialisms - and Principal Insurance could not be more specialist! They truly know bikes and bikers and Aly and Dave’s passion for the sector is obvious to see. I’m delighted to welcome them to the group and congratulations to Rob and the team in Aston Lark Ireland who are going from strength to strength.”
Aly Dixon, Principal Insurance Ireland DAC’s Chief Executive, welcomed the deal, saying: “When we set out on this journey, our customers and staff were at the forefront of our consideration. Aston Lark very much shares our ethos in terms of delivering service excellence and completely recognises the existing expertise held by our Dublin-based team who have been and will be testament to our continued success.
“As Aston Lark is fast growing its presence in Ireland, and committing the resources necessary to support expansion across a broker portfolio, myself and my team are extremely excited and proud to join the group.”
Founder and CEO of Principal Insurance Ltd in the UK, Dave Bowcock, added: “We’re immensely proud of what we’ve achieved in Ireland so far but felt now was the right time to hand over the reins to someone for the next exciting phase for the Irish office. We believe we have found the perfect partner in Aston Lark to fuel future growth and diversification even further. Our UK operation remains very much focussed on embracing the multitude of opportunities we have in front of us, and we wish Aly and her team the very best for the future going forward as part of Aston Lark.”