Howden sets out scale of ambition for Swiss market with acquisition of BrokerCenterZürichsee AG (BCZ)

Howden Switzerland launches growth strategy with first acquisition as it invests in local expertise and builds out distribution for Swiss and multi-national clients

Howden, the international insurance broker, today announced the acquisition of BrokerCenterZürichsee AG (BCZ); its first in the Swiss brokerage market. This acquisition represents investment in local expertise and a platform for its strategic growth plans in Switzerland. BCZ will operate under the new name Howden BCZ Versicherungsbroker AG.

BCZ is an independent insurance broker servicing Swiss SME clients across personal lines, property, and asset insurance, offering a full range of professional broking services and exceptional client service, underlining Howden’s ambition to take a leading market position in the Swiss market.

Felix C. Jenny, CEO Howden Switzerland, said: “We see great potential for growth by being the natural home for independent brokers in Switzerland. In this way, clients can access the expertise and specialisms drawn from Howden’s international network in their local market.  This acquisition also fits perfectly with our growth strategy, which will be achieved through strong organic growth, attracting talent and strategic partnerships with like-minded firms who share our culture of entrepreneurship and empowerment."

This acquisition reflects Howden’s on-going strategy of building businesses, growing teams and empowering local leadership to partner with culturally-aligned companies to enhance the client offering; Howden took a similar approach in Italy in July of this year.  Talent has found a home at Howden, joining the company to drive growth in key markets, including Luigi Sturani as CEO, Europe, Holger Schaefer as CEO, Germany and Jeroen Everling as CEO, Netherlands, Corporate.

The BCZ’s leadership team consists of its two current owners, Teodoro Martino and Josef Eckl Zenger, who will continue to manage BCZ's existing operations and client relationships.

Josef Eckl Zenger, Managing Director, Howden BCZ Versicherungsbroker AG said: "Our clients will now benefit from the advantages of an international broking group with distribution and expertise across 40 territories. Joining Howden means we can continue to grow our business and focus on delivering exceptional service to our clients as part of a company that values its independence and employee-owned culture."

Teodoro Martino, future Chief Development Officer Howden Switzerland adds: "The core of our corporate philosophy is to always put our clients at the centre of our thoughts and plans. We want to offer them even more expertise from a single source in Switzerland by expanding Howden’s geographical footprint."

Luigi Sturani, CEO of Howden Europe comments: “Howden Switzerland's acquisition of BCZ is the most recent example of us executing on our European strategy; to build businesses across the continent that offer both clients and talent something different and exciting.  Our international scale, empowering culture, product expertise and data and analytics capability means we can provide real choice in the Swiss market and beyond.”