7 January 2015 Insurance

JLT acquires Irish financial firm

Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) has, through its Irish subsidiary, acquired Liberty Asset Management from Friends First Life Assurance Group.

Liberty is a specialist in providing advice to companies and trustee boards on employee benefit arrangements and individuals on wealth management solutions.

As part of the transaction, Freedom Trust Services (FTS) which provides trusteeship services to a range of corporate and individual pension funds, is also being acquired.

Pat Howett, chief executive officer, JLT Ireland, said: "This acquisition provides a unique opportunity to bring together two perfectly aligned businesses. The scale of the integrated business will make JLT a new significant force in the employee benefits sector in Ireland.

“We are looking forward to exploiting the group's technical knowledge and technological capability to provide leading edge services to clients. JLT's ambition is to develop a market leading position in Employee Benefits in Ireland and our new colleagues share this vision and together we all look forward to this exciting opportunity.''

Steve Robinson, UK director, JLT employee benefits, said: "Liberty Asset Management has a very strong emphasis on client service and building strong relationships, so culturally is a good fit with JLT employee benefits. Their diverse range of services from wealth management to group risk provides a platform for significant growth in Ireland. We look forward to working with our new colleagues."

Michael Lacey, managing director, Liberty Asset Management, said: "The JLT philosophy of acquiring companies to build them for the long-term was very attractive to us and we saw a fit for our company with them from the outset. We are confident that by becoming a member of the JLT family we can provide new opportunities to both our customers and employees through increased investment in our services and people."

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