Sutton Winson acquire client base from GBS Insurance Services

Many of you in the local area might already be familiar with Sutton Winson (SW) – indeed – you might already be a client. If not, they’re a Chartered Insurance Broker with offices in East Sussex, Greater London and Kent. With over 65 years in the industry, they’ve built up a reputation for expert knowledge, integrity and client-centricity.

In an exciting move for Sussex, Kent and the surrounding areas, SW recently expanded their regional footprint as they acquired a significant book of commercial clients from Hastings-based broker GBS Insurance Services.

Who are GBS?

GBS Insurance Services is an independent, fully accredited Lloyd’s Broker with a significant profile in Southeast England. With over 20 years’ experience, GBS is renowned for delivering an excellent client journey with their expertise, efficiency and friendliness. As an independent broker, they’re able to work with several insurers to arrange bespoke insurance solutions tailored directly to their clients’ needs, be they manufacturers, wholesalers, landlords, professional firms, charities, or hospitality businesses and more.

With so many shared values and a similar passion for client-centricity, it’s perhaps little surprise that the two businesses were able to form a close relationship. In December of last year, that relationship was cemented as SW proudly acquired a book of commercial clients from GBS.

As a family-run business operating based on a core set of values, GBS were adamant that any merger or acquisition be underscored by a shared culture and outlook. Peter Matthews, CEO of GBS, comments, “Our clients are very much used to a personal service [and a] personal relationship…Even though GBS is much smaller in size than SW, our way of conducting business, looking after clients, and culture are really very similar.”

A big win for GBS clients

The acquisition sees not only the smooth continuation of the same high standards of customer service, but an improved client experience, with GBS clients now having access to a greater range of insurers, products and services. Annie Jones, Client Executive at GBS, observes that “of particular benefit to the client is the back-office support of the Commercial team. Each client now has a dedicated Executive and separate Client Handler to look after their needs and provide continuity of care.” The maintenance of relationships between Annie and her clients is especially important to her, and she continues to happily look after those clients who’ve renewed their policies since the merger with SW, which is further indicative of the shared passion for client-centricity.

It's not only GBS clients enjoying the greater arsenal of resources, but their team too. Peter notes that formerly, “we did not have a dedicated Claims division and had to deal with these between ourselves along with all other day-to-day broking activities.” He goes on to highlight a particularly long and complicated claims issue that was quickly resolved with the help of the Head of Claims at SW, delivering a successful resolution to the client concerned. The handling of this particular claim is exemplary of the client experience more generally, with over 95% of GBS clients having renewed their policies.

And for SW, too

The impressive renewal rate is not the only indicator of the acquisition’s success, which is also characterised by the winning of new business, in which Peter and Annie have both proved instrumental since becoming a part of SW. Neil Hobbs, of the SW Board of Directors, expresses his excitement at the acquisition:

“Growing further into East Sussex as well as into Kent was always a natural fit, and something we’ve been trying to do for a while. However, doing this with the right team was our main aim. Peter and Annie have led the way with our expansion and seen genuine success with policies migrating over to SW. We’ve welcomed many new clients based in Kent & beyond, who’ve enjoyed access to our wider insurer markets and broader insurance facilities”.  

The future is bright

It’s clear that the relationship between SW and GBS has already proved fruitful for both parties. Looking back over recent months, Peter concludes, “I feel that we at GBS have learnt a lot from the breadth of SW’s expertise, and they’ve also gained valuable additional resource, relationships and ideas from ourselves, so very much a ‘win-win’ situation.”

It appears that the future’s bright for SW and GBS alike, and, with client experience remaining at the very centre of their burgeoning partnership, it’s good news for the insurance landscape in the Southeast, too.