28th January 2021
Launching “The Ataraxia Podcast”!

Graham Webster: A Podcast Interview
Ataraxia’s Helen was recently joined by Graham Webster of ABA Insurance Services. Graham talks to us about his complete Ataraxia journey; from the initial deal in 2014, instigated by the need to exit a shareholder, all the way through to his experience in trading with our markets and culminating in the final succession plan which we have seen in the recent trade press.
Who is Graham Webster?
Graham is the Managing Director of ABA Insurance Services in Bolton. Graham has 40+ years in the Insurance Industry and has also been a President of the local Bolton CII. Graham set up ABA Group in 1993 and has been providing UK businesses with his expertise since. Graham is our first interviewee and was chosen as he has completed the full “Ataraxia Journey”, from initial de-risking and buying out a fellow shareholder, all the way through the placement/income generation phase, through to formulating a highly bespoke succession solution, using Ataraxia’s niche expertise.
What are the key takeaway’s from Helen’s interview with Graham?
Critical to the deal was being able to maintain control of the company, which Ataraxia enabled Graham to do.
It’s extremely important for all staff members, not just the directors, to form good relationships with our clients.
Ataraxia supported Graham through the acquisition of Egerton Newton which proved to be a key platform in moving forwards.
What were the interviews best moments?
‘‘We like to provide a first-class service. We like to be very much as I mentioned before, almost a board member of the clients. We like to know their business because by knowing their business, we can actually give them proper advice on their insurance requirements and arrangements.’’
‘’When approaching Ataraxia, I’d realised that the insurance market was changing and that we needed some support with agencies and so on and therefore we were looking at various opportunities.’’
‘’Ataraxia enhanced commission and initially helped us help the shareholders of ABA to release an equity, which was useful.’’
“Have we been on the money?… Yes, everything that was put down when we started talking about what was actually to be achieved. It went actually further than that and we ended up with more cash in the business than we expected. So yes, it was it worked very well.’’
Where can I find some of the resources?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamwebsterabagroup/
https://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/news/watford-broker-scores-acquisition-hat-trick-as-part-of-2021-growth-plans/1436048.article
https://www.insuranceage.co.uk/broker/7537936/mvp-broker-buys-three-businesses
Who is Helen O’Neill at Ataraxia?
Helen is the Commercial Manager of Ataraxia, a unique succession support business for UK General Insurance Brokers. Coming from a Finance and broking background, Helen works exclusively in the independent broker space. Her commercial broking experience is key to supporting the business, which has achieved over 40 brokerage succession plans during the last 10 years. Observing that “one size doesn’t generally fit all” Helen applies “bespoke” planning to the succession dilemma. Helping brokers to identify ambition, gently release capital and construct a robust business plan to protect all the vital elements of a brokerage.
Where can I listen to the full interview?
You can listen to the podcast episode on the following podcast streaming apps:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1i5R3YEhODRF8Et9kxiQ7C
Podbean: https://ataraxiapodcast.podbean.com
GooglePlay: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2F0YXJheGlhcG9kY2FzdC9mZWVkLnhtbA
iTunes:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ataraxia-insurance-broker-podcast/id1548912054
The Podcast Interview with Graham Websteer