# XPS Pensions Group expands insurance consulting with APR acquisition

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/xps-pensions-group-expands-insurance-consulting-with-apr-acquisition/4121254777
- Published: 2026-06-26T07:38:37+01:00
- Author: Ethan Davis

**XPS Pensions Group plc **(LON:XPS), a leading Pensions and Insurance Consulting
and Administration business, has announced that it has entered into an agreement
to acquire the trade and assets of Austin Professional Resourcing LLP (APR), an 
established UK-based specialist actuarial consultancy to leading insurers and financial
sector clients. The Acquisition further accelerates the Group’s diversification 
strategy into this large tangential addressable market and its aim of becoming a
market leading financial services consulting and administration provider.  The Acquisition
is expected to complete on or around 31 July 2026.

APR was established in 2006 and has worked with over 45 insurers and financial sector
clients in the last three years, including most of the UK’s top 10 insurers. APR
has strong client relationships, with a client Net Promoter Score of +70, which 
is considered excellent. APR prides itself on having a very strong employee culture
including an excellent training programme attracting high calibre employees.  APR
has an established team of over 70 client facing employees which, combined with 
the existing XPS insurance consulting team and access to wider XPS actuarial teams,
will provide greater scale and enhanced capabilities to accelerate the Group’s diversification
into the insurance consulting market.

Importantly, APR has expertise in the UK’s General Insurance consulting market, 
which is estimated to have an annual value of c.£1.5bn, with APR having client relationships
with over 20 general insurers. This helps position the Group to become a broader
insurance consulting provider, strengthening its ability to deliver comprehensive
services across both Life and General Insurance markets, unlocking further growth
opportunities.

Cash consideration of £3.3 million will be paid on completion, with an additional
non-contingent cash consideration of £3.0 million payable by 31 March 2027. A further
contingent total cash consideration of up to £10.0 million will be payable in years
2 and 3, contingent on achieving certain stretching business performance criteria.
The Acquisition is being funded from the Group’s existing cash and available debt
facilities.  In the year ended 31 March 2026, APR generated revenues of £10.7 million
^((1)), thereby equating to a transaction multiple of less than 1x revenue.  We 
expect the transaction to create multiple opportunities, including through cross
selling by our broader senior leadership team – XPS can now deliver a comprehensive
range of services to tackle the most complex projects.  We also expect there to 
be opportunities to deploy APR’s talented people within our pipeline.

The Acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing to the Group in the first full
year of ownership, with ROIC in excess of the Group’s cost of capital by the third
full year of ownership.

XPS was advised by Deloitte, PwC and Osborne Clarke on the transaction.

> **Paul Cuff, Co-CEO of XPS Group, commented:**
> “We are delighted to announce our transaction with APR, and we look forward to
> welcoming our new colleagues to XPS.  We have been admirers of the APR business
> for some time, with its strong culture, its highly talented people and its deep
> relationships in the insurance market.
> With this transaction, XPS will have doubled our total addressable market to £
> 6bn+ in the space of less than two years, through strategic acquisitions and senior
> recruitment. We are very excited about what the future holds as we become a broader
> financial services firm providing outstanding client service to pension schemes
> and insurers alike.” 

^((1)       ) From unaudited management accounts

> **Roger Austin, Founding Partner of APR, said:**
> “Since founding APR 20 years ago, we have been guided by our purpose: nurturing
> our talented people and delighting our clients.  Recruiting great people and investing
> in their development has enabled us to continually build trust and delight our
> clients, the keys to growing our market share.
> When looking at potential strategic partners, we focused on two key factors: cultural
> fit, and clear strategic growth opportunities. We believe that XPS is a great 
> match against both and are delighted with our new home.  We are excited about 
> the opportunity to jointly deliver a much more comprehensive service to the insurance
> sector.”

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