By Ryan Hewlett

Jan 23 - (The Insurer) - Private equity-backed broker consolidator PIB Group and its MGA Acquinex have launched legal proceedings in London’s High Court against rival Howden after the latter recruited its warranty and indemnity (W&I) insurance team earlier this year.

The suit – lodged on 17 January according to data from Solomonic – concerns the recruitment by Howden’s MGA unit Dual of Acquinex’s head of transactional risks Paul Smith and his team.

Alongside Smith, the team move, first revealed byThe Insurer, also included Acquinex Northern Europe team leader Adam Love, together with an estimated 20+ person W&I insurance team.

The lawsuit filed by PIB Group, Acquinex and a number of their subsidiaries takes aim at Howden Group Holdings, Howden Group Services, Dual International and four individuals, including group founder David Howden.

Other named individuals include Dual Group CEO Richard Clapham alongside both Smith and Love.

PIB, Acquinex and their subsidiaries have instructed Mayer Brown International LLP. Counsel information for Howden Group and the other defendants was not immediately available.

As previously reported, Acquinex was founded in 2017 by current managing director Chris Jackson and head of innovation Chris Thompson, with initial lead capacity backing from Arch. Jackson and Thompson continue to lead the firm.

Acquinex – acquired by PIB Group in March 2021 – focuses on M&A insurance products for small to mid-market deals across Europe. At present, Acquinex has a presence in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Barcelona and Warsaw.

In a statement to The Insurer, Brendan McManus, CEO of PIB Group, said: “On 10 January 2025, a number of employees decided to leave the PIB Group business Acquinex after being approached by our competitor, Dual Group, the underwriting division of Howden.

“PIB Group has proceedings in the High Court against Howden and others. We hold ourselves to a high standard of doing business and will not be silent when we feel others have acted unfairly and unlawfully towards us and our employees. We are a people-first business, and our priority continues to be ensuring that we provide the best quality service for our clients and brokers.”

McManus added: “Our investigations are ongoing at this time and we are not able to comment further.”

In October 2023, Howden Re settled a similar dispute with Guy Carpenter for $70mn, thought to be the highest ever (re)insurance settlement for a team move. The claim was brought over the defection of 38 Europe-based former Marsh McLennan reinsurance employees to the UK broking group.

Howden declined to comment.