Premier Choice Group Expands Its Presence in the Southeast with the Acquisition of Advo

Expanding its presence in the Southeast was a key factor behind Premier Choice Group’s (PCG) acquisition of Advo Group.

At least that’s what PCG director Stephen Hough says. (in the photo)who resigned as CEO of the company at the end of May to focus on strategy and acquisitions.

A Brown & Brown company announced this morning that it has acquired employee benefits brokerage firm Advo Group Ltd.

The transaction is the latest in a series of acquisitions by PCG, which completed six in the first half of 2024.

With offices in London, Towcester, Bournemouth, Darwen and now Maidstone (through Advo), PCG works with UK insurers across a range of health, risk and protection insurance products.

Advo is a consultancy based in Maidstone, Kent, specialising in employee benefits for domestic and international clients.

The company recently underwent a restructuring to separate the Advo One HR and payroll division, which will remain within Advo Holdings Ltd.

Advo Principals Larry Bulmer and Colin Boxall will remain with Advo One.

Under the terms of the acquisition, which closed following regulatory approval, PCG will add Advo’s employee benefits business to its existing offering.

Lucy Irvine, Advo’s director of employee benefits, will remain in her role as the team expands its operations across the South East, becoming part of the Brown & Brown team.

Lucy Pearce, Advo Group Commercial Director, will join the PCG management team and become PCG Commercial Director, working alongside recently appointed Managing Director Darren Perkins.

Speaking to Healthcare This morning, Hough revealed that the terms of the deal had not been disclosed and that while there are many synergies between the businesses, Advo will remain Advo Group Ltd and will trade under that name, and there will be no redundancies at Advo following the deal.

“This gives us a base in the South East, where we are quite strong in general insurance but we did not have a large Premier Choice presence there.

“We will retain the Advo office and all staff. This is simply a further expansion of Premier Choice’s growth strategy.”

In today’s announcement, Perkins said: “It is great to be able to expand our employee benefits offering to include this dynamic team of professionals from the Southeast.

“This is a highly respected and experienced team with a strong reputation for delivering employee services.

“The business portfolio they will bring to PCG will also provide us with economies of scale and a high-quality client list that we intend to expand with additional services.”

Pearce added: “Becoming part of PCG/Brown & Brown gives us a great opportunity to take a leading position in the employee benefits market.

“We are very excited about this new opportunity, which follows a successful period of growth for Advo Group.

“The next phase of our journey promises to be exciting and we look forward to being a part of PCG.”