Frankfurt, Germany – 8 December 2023: Permira, the global private equity firm, today announced that a company backed by the Permira funds has agreed to acquire GGW Group. GGW Group is one of the leading European insurance brokerage platforms for small and medium-sized enterprises (“Mittelstand”) currently owned by Hg, a leading investor in European and transatlantic software and services businesses. Closing is subject to regulatory clearances and expected in the second quarter 2024.
Founded by CEO Tobias Warweg, the Group has driven a best in class insurance brokerage platform in Germany over the last 3 years. Today, more than 50 brokerage companies are operating under the roof of GGW Group, advising small and medium-size enterprises in Europe.
Tobias Warweg, CEO of GGW Group, said: “The backing from the Permira funds marks an important milestone and yet we are only at the very beginning of GGW’s success story. We are looking forward to working with Permira and are excited about the future as we continue to grow in Germany and expand further across Europe. Thanks to my fantastic colleagues we have surpassed all of our expectations, and quickly become a leading commercial insurance distribution platform in Germany and other European countries. The partnership with Hg has been a core pillar for our success.”
GGW Group fits the Permira funds’ Services strategy of investing in leading platforms in resilient growth markets with great revenue quality and embedded value creation potential. GGW Group offers attractive value to brokers joining the platform – offering scale benefits, breadth of offering across risk types and client benefits from going to market jointly. The Permira funds intend to support GGW Group in its acquisitive growth strategy in the highly fragmented German and European insurance brokerage industry.
Philip Muelder, Head of the Services sector at Permira, said: “The Permira Funds are excited to support GGW Group and the management team on their growth journey towards becoming the No 1 insurance brokerage for small and medium sized enterprises. Tobias and his team have built a fantastic platform for leading B2B brokers who can offer the best individual risk concepts and insurance solutions to their clients through the integrated platform of GGW Group. We are looking forward to supporting Tobias and GGW Group writing the next chapter of the growth story together.”
Florian Kreuzer, Head of DACH at Permira, said: “With GGW Group, the Permira Funds invest in another leading services platform in Germany after the acquisition of Engel & Völkers two years ago. This underlines our team’s strong expertise in one of our key growth sectors in the DACH region - besides being one of the largest investors in technology, healthcare and consumer. Permira has a long and proven track-record of successfully supporting companies in their transformation journey towards becoming stronger, more international and more digital.”
Initiated and led by Tobias Warweg and with the help of Hg in 2020, the group has attracted a rising number of partners to the platform which was one of the key growth drivers in recent years. Decades of experience in the insurance sector, Hg’s local relationships and a trusted partnership with Tobias, enabled the foundation of a highly entrepreneurial brokerage group.
Justin von Simson and Benedikt Joeris, both Partners at Hg, said: “This investment really highlights what gets us out of bed in the morning at Hg. It started as an innovative and very entrepreneurial idea, building a high-quality business alongside a long-trusted partner, in a sector we’ve studied over decades. We’re delighted for the team and look forward to seeing their continued success.”
