Howden Acquires ActiveQuote: Richard Theo Reflects on 16 Years of Growth

Comments on the Acquisition

Mike Dalby, Managing Director of UK Consumer Life & Health at Howden, commented: “This acquisition comes at a crucial time. Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen a 46% surge in interest from individuals seeking private medical insurance to speed up their access to diagnosis and treatment. By bringing ActiveQuote into our fold, we are perfectly positioned to meet this growing demand.”

This latest acquisition follows Howden’s purchase of AGEO Group, a leading employee benefits provider in France, which has expanded Howden Employee Benefits’ global team to over 2,500 employees across 38 countries.

Glenn Thomas, CEO & Global Practice Leader of Howden Employee Benefits, added: “ActiveQuote is a well-respected group with strong expertise, an outstanding reputation, and a great team that we have known for a long time. We are therefore delighted to welcome CEO Rob Saunders and their highly experienced team into Howden. This acquisition reflects our ambition to grow the UK consumer health insurance market under Mike’s leadership.”

Rob Saunders, CEO of ActiveQuote, shared: “After 15 years of independence, growth, and development, becoming part of Howden is a significant step in our growth journey – both for our people and our clients. Howden was the only company we wanted to join and together we will provide enhanced solutions for our clients.”

Richard Theo’s Reflections

Richard Theo, who founded ActiveQuote 16 years ago, reflected on the journey and the acquisition in a LinkedIn post:

I founded ActiveQuote 16 years ago and led as CEO until 2017 and subsequently as a non-executive director. The whole team should be immensely proud of what we achieved together, and I would like to thank you all for your contributions, all of which were essential to achieving the successful conclusion to this chapter of the company’s life. My particular thanks to our Chairman these last eight years, Huw Morgan, Rob Saunders, Alun Doull, Katrina Evison, Rob Merrills, Richard Avery-Wright of 1818 Venture Capital who backed us in 2014, and the loyal cohort of staff who have been with us since the early days. We achieved some impressive things including a Trustpilot rating now of 4.9*, 15 consecutive years of growth, and the Queens Award for Innovation.

In Howden Group, we found the best acquiror to take the business forward through the next phase of its life, to whom we now confidently entrust the care of our people and reputation. I wish the team at Howden every success.

Currently, Theo is focusing on his new venture, Zero, a banking startup committed to sustainability, set to launch later this year. More information can be found at Zero’s website.