Multi-million pound sale of Peterborough insurance company to be undone over competition concerns

Motorcycle insurance provider Bennetts, based in Worldwide House, Thorpe Wood, was sold in a £26 million deal last month to insurance giant the Ardonagh Group, also a leading provider of insurance cover to motorcyclists.

But the deal sparked competition concerns and fears it could lead to customers getting a worse deal.

It prompted the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to begin an investigation into the sale of the 91-year-old company.

Now the CMA has accepted a proposal from Ardonagh to sell Bennetts and effectively fully unwind the £26 million purchase from the over 50s travel and insurance specialist, Saga.

It comes five years after Saga bought Bennetts from the BGL Group, based in Bakewell Road, Peterborough, for a reputed £26.26 million.

It a statement, the CMA says: “Following an initial investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was concerned that the merger of Ardonagh and Bennetts, which are the two leading distributors of motorcycle insurance to private customers in the UK, could result in a worse deal for customers.

“In order to address these concerns, Ardonagh has now offered to sell Bennetts - effectively reversing the deal completely.

“The CMA has accepted that this offer should, in principle, be capable of remedying the competition concerns it has identified and will now consider the detailed aspects of the proposed remedy.

“If the proposed remedy is accepted, Ardonagh would have a fixed period of time to sell Bennetts to a purchaser approved by the CMA.”

The CMA has an initial deadline of November 25 to take its final decision on whether to accept the proposed remedy.

It plans to consult publicly on the detailed aspects of the offer in the coming weeks.