Howden Acquires Belgian Insurance Broker Sarton & Associés

Howden, the London-based re/insurance broker, announced the acquisition of Belgian insurance broker, Sarton & Associés.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As Howden Belgium’s first acquisition, it reinforces the broker’s plans to expand its retail operations across Belgium to service local and multinational clients. Howden was granted a license to operate in Belgium in 2020.

The Sarton & Associés acquisition represents an investment in property, casualty and employee benefits insurances, which adds to Howden Belgium’s existing specialty lines expertise for large corporates, mid-sized businesses and SMEs in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Located in Brussels, Sarton & Associés complements Howden’s existing expertise, distribution and product range and allows a more prominent presence across the country.

This acquisition reflects Howden’s on-going strategy of building businesses, growing teams and empowering local leadership to partner with culturally aligned companies to enhance the client offering.

Howden has taken a similar approach in Italy and Switzerland in the last few months, hiring a wave of new talent in key markets, including Luigi Sturani as CEO, Europe; Holger Schaefer as CEO, Germany; Felix Jenny, CEO, Switzerland, and Jeroen Everling as CEO, Netherlands Corporate.

Paul Sarton, founder of Sarton & Associés, commented: “Howden was not the first company to approach us, but we chose to join them not only because of their international network, but also because of their independent and empowered culture. In Howden, we have found a place where people share our values, enabling us to continue to grow and focus on the client centricity, innovation and entrepreneurship for which Sarton & Associés has become known in the wider Brussels region. We look forward to being part of this fast growing company.”

“By attracting the right talent and empowering people to build businesses and teams, we continue to expand our footprint across Europe and invest in expertise for our clients. This latest deal means Howden Belgium is now a substantial, quality business, only a year after launching, and is another step in fulfilling our ambitions to be a leader in our chosen markets,” said Louise Cable-Alexander, CEO Northern Europe, Howden.

Established in 1994, Howden comprises owned businesses across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The company employs more than 6,500 people worldwide and operates in more than 90 territories, together with aligned partners.

Source: Howden Broking