ProtectionOct 20 2016

Direct Life and Lifequote in management buyout

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Direct Life and Lifequote in management buyout

Senior management at protection platform Direct Life have announced they will purchase the company from its owner Cardif Pinnacle Insurance.

The purchase, which will include adviser portal Lifequote, has already been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, and is expected to be completed by the end of October.

Announcing the deal yesterday (19 October) managing director Rob Quayle and sales and marketing director Neil McCarthy said the buyout would allow the company to "build on its existing business in addition to creating new technology applications for the adviser market".

Mr Quayle said Cardif Pinnacle had been "incredibly supportive of Direct Life during their ownership", building a "market leading technology platform". 

He said he and Mr McCarthy had taken over all assets and reserves in the business,  "meaning we are well resourced and fully capitalised as we enter this next stage in Direct Life’s development". 

"I am personally very excited to be leading the new venture along with Neil and our fantastic management and operational team," he said.

Mr McCarthy said under the new ownership, the business would be run by a management team "whose sole focus is supporting our distribution channels and increasing the take up of protection and related products".

"Advisers will benefit from better technology and outsourced support,” he said.   

Direct Life is a protection aggregator, offering access to most of the major protection providers. Lifequote is an adviser portal that offers, in its own words, "a range of tools and administrative services, for busy advisers and paraplanners".

Cardif Pinnacle is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas.

james.fernyhough@ft.com.