Academy Insurance Services New Team and New Look

Hill Coates Associates is very pleased to have introduced Academy Insurance Services to its new management team backed by private equity house, Blixt . Simon Hill and Tom Lethaby first met CEO Gilles Normand, former CEO of Swinton Insurance, in 2021 as part of Hill Coates’s Pathfinder Programme and listened to his ideas for creating a new sort of insurance broker, digitally integrated and offering high service levels to end clients.  Gilles’s vision was shared by the former COO of Brightwell Insurance Richard Beaven who soon joined the team. Tom Lethaby led the company search and eventually identified Academy Insurance Services as a suitable platform investment, where Managing Director Neil Turner was keen to grow the company through acquisition.  Blixt then partnered the new team to acquire the business, with industry veteran Brendan McCafferty joining as Chair and Neil moving to the key role of Acqusitions Director. The team has been further augmented by Andrew Creedon joining as CFO and Mark Richardson as Partnerships Director and a new corporate identity has been adopted. But it hasn’t ended there for Hill Coates who are very happy to have been asked to find further brokerages to include, either with proprietors who just want to hand on their legacy of well serviced clients or with proprietors who want to be part of a bigger, better capitalised and growing business. If either of those description fit you, please contact tom.lethaby@hillcoates.com.