Lifetime Announces Strategic Partnership with Rothbury Group

Lifetime Announces Strategic Partnership with Rothbury Group

12 December 2016

One of New Zealand’s strongest financial services businesses was created today following the announcement by Lifetime Group of its national strategic partnership with insurance brokerage Rothbury Group Limited.

The deal involves three key transactions, including an exchange of assets and expertise. This includes:

• Lifetime taking over Rothbury Life (Rothbury’s life insurance and mortgage division).

• Rothbury acquiring Lifetime’s General Insurance Brokerage.

• Rothbury purchasing a 19.5% ‘cornerstone’ of Lifetime shares.

All jobs will be retained with Rothbury and Lifetime staff co-locating throughout the country over time. Advisers and related staff will come together in Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, and at Lifetime’s head office in Christchurch.

The collaboration is part of a 36-month growth plan that Lifetime Group CEO Mike Jones and his team have been working on.

Mike Jones said that the collaboration with Rothbury was a strategic move for both companies and meant expertise could be shared, which would ultimately benefit both new and existing clients.

“We’re both national-operating companies with very similar cultures and complementary client offerings,” Jones said. “There’s a natural alignment of values – our organisations each take pride in our integrity, ethics and accountability.

“For a Lifetime shareholder, the merger delivers sustainable dividends, the backing of a large corporate and great potential for capital value growth.”

Rothbury is New Zealand’s fourth largest brokerage company and this year again won the prestigious Large Broking Company of the Year at the New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards for the third time.

The Rothbury Group was also the founding New Zealand member of Australia’s largest insurance broking network, the ASX-listed Steadfast Group.

Rothbury CEO Roger Abel said Lifetime and Rothbury had been in negotiations for the past few months and both parties were thrilled to get the deal across the line.

“This new partnership with Lifetime presents opportunities for Rothbury Insurance Brokers, Rothbury Life and Lifetime to all benefit, grow and share our collective knowledge both within our businesses and with our clients,” Roger Abel said.

At a glance

• Rothbury Group will take a 19.5% cornerstone shareholding in Lifetime Group in a deal worth in excess of $10m.

• Lifetime Brokerage is being acquired by Rothbury as an asset sale.

• Lifetime will continue to work with the Rothbury Brokerage for general insurance clients and together form a national partnership.

• All staff will be retained as per existing terms.

• Lifetime Group has purchased Rothbury Life & Mortgages as a going concern. This acquisition grows the risk book by over 25% and doubles the size of mortgage sales to around $400m per annum.

Ends

© Scoop Media