Merchant bank Rothschild & Co is taking a majority stake in Hillewaere Group. The two parties have just concluded an agreement to that effect. Specifically, Rothschild & Co is stepping into the capital of the Antwerp-based real estate and insurance specialist via Five Arrows Principal Investments (FAPI). With the investment, FAPI aims to grow further in the European insurance and real estate sector. The management of Hillewaere Group will remain in the hands of CEO and founder Roel Druyts.
The Hillewaere Group has been nurturing plans for some time to become active in both real estate and insurance brokerage across the country. For example, the company recently opened two new offices in Ghent and Hasselt. With Five Arrows Principal Investments (FAPI) as a partner, the expansion process can shift into high gear.
"Thanks to the use of new technologies, the launch of new activities such as interior and renovation advice and the incredible drive of our employees, we have succeeded in making a solid growth spurt in recent years. And this in our real estate, insurance and mortgage branch. This has not gone unnoticed and has attracted the attention of Rothschild & Co. Via FAPI it is now stepping into our capital," said Roel Druyts, CEO and founder Hillewaere Group.
The size of the transaction is not being communicated as yet. What is clear, however, is that Five Arrows Principal Investments will take a majority stake in Hillewaere Group. CEO Roel Druyts will retain a stake and continue to take day-to-day and operational control. The management structure will not be affected either.
Ambition
Five Arrows Principal Investments wants to write the same success story with the Hillewaere Group as it did previously in the Netherlands with the Heilbron Group. This Dutch financial services provider grew to 750 employees in four years while seeing its turnover increase sevenfold to 110 million euros. Heilbron Groep is currently number three in the Dutch market of independent intermediaries. Earlier, FAPI also participated in Voogd & Voogd, the largest proxy company in the Netherlands.
"In Hillewaere under the leadership of Roel Druyts, we see a company that has the potential to make a mark on the Belgian insurance and real estate brokerage industry. This in a uniform manner as its sister in the Netherlands, the Heilbron Group," explained Marco Gregoor, on behalf of Five Arrows Principal Investments.
With the participation in Hillewaere Group, FAPI already has the ambition to soon become one of the top 10 in the Belgian insurance market, thus aiming for national coverage of its activities. The real estate business also has the ambition to become one of the leading players in the Belgian market.
Consolidation
Insurance brokers occupy an important place in insurance distribution in Belgium, with a total of EUR 15 billion in premium turnover per year. This corresponds to roughly half of the total insurance market. With more than 6,700 authorised brokerage firms, this market can be described as particularly fragmented. Hillewaere Group wants to play an important role in the consolidation of this market.
"The insurance industry today faces some crucial challenges. And in doing so, it is all about added value. Both to the customer and to the employees. Just think of administrative simplification, specialisations and our own tailor-made product development. At Hillewaere Group, we have been doing this for years through our own proxy products for exclusive cars, homes, art and yachts. But there is also a clear need for added value in the field of digital services. Especially now that we are increasingly moving towards online distribution of insurance solutions. In Belgium, this currently amounts to less than 5% of the sold volume, but in the Netherlands it is already over 60% when it comes to private insurance policies. All these evolutions require economies of scale and thus significant investments. That is why it is good to have a strong financial party alongside you," Druyts says.
The real estate sector also still has many small, local players and some franchise formulas. For several years, Hillewaere Group has observed that most of these real estate players are perfectly interchangeable and often lack the strength to take their service to a higher level, among other things by introducing more experience in their offices, but also IT systems to map the market, high-performance lead generation so that real estate agents know better who wants to buy and sell and marketing automation. Hillewaere Group also envisages consolidation in this market.
