No jobs are at risk after an Andover-based insurance group was acquired by a Jersey-based company.

The Ardonagh Group, based in St Helier, announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase Be Wiser on Monday. Under the deal, the Be Wiser brand will operate alongside the group’s other insurance companies, underneath the Atlanta platform.

The group intends that 189 employees of BeWiser will transfer to Atlanta. At the start of this year, the company has 280 staff.

It is understood that the difference is comprised of 60 staff who were laid off as a result of a restructuring announced in February this year, while the remaining 31 will leave as a result of ‘natural attrition’, which includes employees leaving the business for purposes such as retirement.

In a statement released by Be Wiser, CEO Jeff Brinley said: “It is great that the Be Wiser brand will now be able to continue to grow and prosper with access to the enormous resources and knowhow available within Atlanta.”

Be Wiser is a personal lines insurance broker with in the region of 100,000 live policyholders across car, van, bike, travel and home insurance with Feefo Platinum Trusted status. It is based in a number of offices in Andover and Swindon.

It has had a “challenging” time during the pandemic, something that saw its motor insurance brokering hit across multiple lockdowns. At the time, the number of job losses were unknown, but the company said that it would do everything it can to support those affected, including redeployment where possible.

The acquisition was announced on April 19 following rumours of a potential buyout over the weekend.

In a statement, the firm’s purchasers, The Ardonagh Group, said: “Atlanta, The Ardonagh Group’s Retail platform, today announces that it has signed an agreement to purchase certain trade and assets of Be Wiser.

“Upon completion, the Be Wiser brand will operate within Atlanta alongside Swinton, Autonet, Carole Nash and Marmalade and it is the intention that 189 Be Wiser colleagues will transfer to Atlanta.

“Atlanta is a leading digital multi-brand personal insurance broker with over 2.6 million customers.”

Atlanta’s CEO, Ian Donaldson, added: “This is a great opportunity for us to complement our existing brands and businesses by bringing an established, well-loved and much respected brand into Atlanta.

“We will provide the digital investment and strength of our insurer relationships to support its future growth and success.”

The Ardonagh Group was contacted for comment.