Connection Capital, the private equity and alternative investment platform, is pleased to announce the £10.7m MBO of Hood Group Limited, a UK-based specialist insurance distributor and services provider.
Hood Group is an insurance intermediary that distributes Personal Lines policies across Home and Travel via its blue-chip customer base and its own D2C brand, Select & Protect. It also provides outsourced services to its corporate customers. The business has invested in scalable specialist white-label software that supports its insurance distribution business and it operates a technology stack beyond the typical capability of a business of its size.
Hood Group has relationships with some of the UK’s most prominent underwriters including AXA, ERGO and Bspoke. It pairs third-party brands and insurers within its network using its single customer contact centre to support a 520,000 strong customer base with a top quartile Net Promoter Score and strong customer satisfaction ratings.
Finance provided by the transaction includes capital to support investment in the Direct and Affinity (B2B) insurance distribution business, investment in overhead to pursue new and existing verticals, and wider as the company seeks to take advantage of a fragmented digital insurance marketplace.
Connection Capital has demonstrable, relevant sector expertise. In 2017 it completed a £7.5m investment to back the MBO of insurtech, Tempcover. Over the course of the investment, Tempcover's EBITDA grew substantially and headcount more than doubled. The portfolio company was exited four and a half years later for a gross return materially in excess of 5x.
Mark Snaith, Investment Director at Connection Capital said:
“We have enjoyed getting to know the management team at Hood Group and have been impressed with their experience, expertise, and how they have evolved the business as the insurance market has continued to change. We believe they are well-positioned to build on the company’s success and continue delivering exceptional value to their clients. Our investment, our experience with Tempcover, and our connections within the insurance industry will provide the support needed to unlock new opportunities and deliver the planned growth.”
Simon Hood, CEO at Hood Group said:
“This investment marks an important milestone for Hood Group. With the Connection Capital team’s support, we are confident in our ability to accelerate our growth plans and continue providing market-leading insurance solutions to our partners and customers.”
About Connection Capital
Connection Capital provides private professional investors with access to direct private equity and private debt transactions and private market alternative investment funds that are usually only available to institutional investors.
It has raised over £530 million of funds (as at 30 September 2024), from its clients, which has been invested across a diverse portfolio including Virgin Wines, Tempcover, and Starbucks franchisee 23.5 Degrees, as well as private market fund strategies operated by institutional-grade managers such as CVC, Epiris, InvestIndustrial and Enact.
Investment opportunities are identified and negotiated by Connection Capital, which also carries out all due diligence and manages the investment from completion through to exit, on its clients’ behalf. Connection Capital is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
About Hood Group
Hood Group is a specialist personal insurance policies and services provider, which has a fully-invested, highly scalable, niche software platform and is presented with the opportunity to capitalise on favourable market dynamics in personal insurance lines.
The Company has multiple routes to market, selling insurance through blue chip, household name brands, as well as its own D2C brand. It also provides outsourced insurance services to customers that already distribute insurance but lack capacity, systems or staff to serve customers.
Press enquiries:
Claire Madden
Managing Partner
Connection Capital
020 3696 4010 or 07764 241476
Russell O’Connor
Headlines for Business 07760 282586
Connection Capital Deal Team: Mark Snaith, Hannah Willison, Lucy Merson and Michael Mowlem.