Towergate and Candover part ways

by Gill Montia

Story link: Towergate and Candover part ways

Towergate, the independently owned insurance intermediary, has withdrawn from negotiations over a sale of part of the business to private equity firm, Candover.

According to a report in The Sunday Telegraph, Towergate’s chairman, Peter Cullum, is abandoning plans to sell a 25% stake in the business for £800 million because of a dispute over the projected earnings of the group.

It is understood that the liquidity shortage on the financial markets left Candover unable to meet Towergate’s expectations.

The business is valued at around £3 billion and its owners had planned to complete a refinancing by the end of the first-quarter of this year. It is likely that the group will now look for an alternative investor.

Mr Cullum owns about 65% of Towergate; a further 22% is held between chief executive Andy Homer, non-executive director Paul Dyer, sales and marketing director Tony Proverb and M&A director Kenny Maciver.