Hilb Group has grown to $650 million in annual revenue after closing more than 180 acquisitions in 15 years.
The Hilb Group’s 15-year streak of buying insurance agencies around the country just got a nine-figure jolt.
The Henrico-based insurance brokerage has added $500 million in new capital, which it plans to use to continue an acquisition binge that totals 184 deals since its founding in 2009.
That new, larger war chest was gathered as part of a $2 billion financing round this month that included a refinance of the company’s existing debt and added a half billion dollars in additional debt capacity that it can draw from for M&A deals.
CEO Ricky Spiro said the refinancing was done to take advantage of lower rates for its existing debt, while the added debt capacity will allow the company to capitalize on a fertile market of independent insurance agencies looking to sell to firms such as Hilb.
Ricky Spiro
“The market is incredibly active still,” Spiro said. “There’s still a lot of reasons why growth through acquisition makes sense not only for us but also for the agents and brokers who are selling their businesses.”
Spiro said the additional $500 million plus existing debt will last the company for the foreseeable future.
“We have a whole bunch of dry powder to fund our growth plans,” he said.
With another deal closing announced this week, Hilb Group’s acquisitions have grown the company to roughly 2,400 employees across more than 100 offices in 30 states. Its annual revenue now sits around $650 million, Spiro said.
It has focused mainly on buying property and casualty and employee benefits agencies along the East Coast, into the Midwest and central states. Spiro said New England and the Tri-State region are particularly strong for Hilb Group, as are the mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
Spiro said the firm’s average deal is for agencies with $4 million to $5 million in revenue.
Hilb Group was founded in 2009 by namesake Bob Hilb, who left the firm in 2017 after it took on private equity funding.
Spiro took the helm that same year and has since led the company through 146 of its 184 acquisitions. The firm is now majority owned by investment giant Carlyle, which acquired it in 2019 from a previous private equity owner.
The company is headquartered in the West End at 6802 Paragon Place, where it occupies two floors.
Now celebrating its 15th anniversary and its 10th year in row landing on Inc. magazine’s Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America, Spiro said that trajectory is expected to continue.
“We’re all about growth. Our intent is to keep doing what we’re doing,” he said. “We think our model works, our value proposition is attractive and right now we have a lot of runway in front of us.”