Duncan Howorth, CEO, JLT UK Employee Benefits, says "This acquisition brings together two market leading employee benefit consultancies which have great synergy in both culture and client offerings. As a combined business we will be at the forefront of industry developments in all our principal areas of operations: Defined Benefit (DB), Defined Contribution (DC) pension solutions and wider employee benefits services.
"JLT continues to develop state of the art offerings for pension schemes and working with our new colleagues we shall be able to provide the technology offerings we have pioneered at Profund and BenPal to their clients as well as ours. I look forward to welcoming our new colleagues from HACL to a Group in which Employee Benefits is right at the centre of our strategic ambitions".
Dominic Burke, Chief Executive, JLT Group said, "The acquisition, which fits squarely with our stated strategy of bolt-on acquisitions, adds substantially to a core component of the JLT Group. It is a complementary deal, playing to our strengths and adding capabilities in important professional fields. This transaction underlines our determination to see our employee benefits business grow as a strategically central part of the JLT Group.
In the year ended 31 December 2008, HACL revenues were circa £40 million. Employing some 440 employees, HACL operates across six practice areas: Trustee Consultancy; Corporate Consultancy; Administration Services; Defined Contribution Consultancy; Investment Consultancy and Health and Risk Consultancy.
Richard Reid, CEO, HACL, says "We are focused on ensuring that our customers continue to benefit from high quality service and financial solutions. The JLT Group is a market leader in the provision of pension solutions and wider employee benefits and we are now working together to ensure that all of our existing customers benefit seamlessly from our combined expertise.
William Nabarro, Chairman, JLT's International EB Group, concludes, "The combination with HACL will add significantly to JLT's expertise in Employee Benefits and will reinforce our market leading position. It will allow us to offer a wider range of services to a larger client base and will support our drive to coordinate and grow Employee Benefits activities internationally. This really is a great day for both businesses".