Hundreds of people will work in the island for insurance company Utmost International after its buy-up of Quilter International in a £483m deal.

That’s the message from Mike Foy, Isle of Man based chief executive of Utmost International, who described the acquisition plan as ’super positive’ for the island.

He told Business News that he understood the huge business link-up would create the island’s biggest insurance provider and rubber stamps the importance of financial services to the island’s economy.

Mr Foy said around 200 people currently work for Utmost in the island.

He added that around 400 people work for Quilter International in the island.

He said: ’It’s a pretty sizeable operation when you put the two figures together.

’From an Isle of Man perspective broadly 600 people will work for the combined business in the Isle of Man.

’The combined business will operate under the Utmost brand.’

The deal is subject to regulatory and other approvals. If all goes through subject to approval then it is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Utmost International is based at Royalty House, Walpole Avenue, Douglas.

Quilter International holds the head lease at the imposing Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Road, which is understood to be the largest office building in the island.

Quilter International will become part of Utmost International, the international life assurance business of Utmost Group.

The transaction adds £22bn of assets under administration and 90,000 policies to Utmost International.

Asked what the deal means for the island Mr Foy told the Examiner: ’We believe this is super positive for the Isle of Man. It’s part of our international growth strategy. This is exciting for us in terms of global presence but from a local island perspective this will strategically shift the centre of of our international operations here in the Isle of Man. It will give us huge scale here in the Isle of Man.’

Mr Foy said Utmost’s growth strategy and expectation to use the acquisition to accelerate growth ’can only be good for the Isle of Man and the people we give opportunities to’.

Mr Foy said a lot of work lay ahead in the coming months and it was too early to say whether there would be any job losses. But he stressed that Utmost was setting its stall out for continuing growth in the future.

Paul Feeney, chief executive of Quilter plc, said: ’We are delighted to announce the proposed sale of Quilter International to the Utmost Group, which represents an excellent outcome for all stakeholders.

dedication

’I would like to thank all our Quilter International colleagues for their dedication, professionalism and service to our customers, which has resulted in the creation of such a strong franchise.

’I am confident that the agreement we have reached with the Utmost Group will ensure the continued success of the business, with a focus on delivering good customer outcomes, as well as providing a wider range of career opportunities for Quilter International’s employees within an enlarged international business.’

Paul Thompson, overall chief executive of the Utmost Group, said: ’This is a highly attractive acquisition for Utmost Group and underscores the importance of our Utmost International business.

’Quilter International is highly complementary to our existing international business from both an operational, product and distribution perspective.

’The acquisition is in line with our growth strategy and positions us well to benefit from the fundamental growth trends in the international life assurance sector.

’The acquisition confirms Utmost Group’s position as a leading insurance consolidator with £58bn of assets under administration and 600,000 customers on a pro-forma basis and gives us an enhanced platform to pursue acquisitions.

’I look forward to welcoming all the staff, customers and distribution partners to our group. We are delighted to work with Quilter on this transaction and look forward to a productive partnership in the future.’

The deal comes hard on the heels of another big merger of insurance companies last year. That involved International Financial Group (IFGL), the owner of the RL360 brand, acquiring Castletown-based Friends Provident International (FPI) from Aviva.

IFGL boss David Kneeshaw last year told Business News that around 450 people worked for the combined insurance giant in the island.