The deal will see Zurich transfer its shares to Openwork’s other main shareholder, Openwork Partnership, which represents a network of around 600 advisor firms and 3,000 advisors. The value of the deal was not disclosed.  

The Openwork Group is currently owned – via ordinary shares – by its advisors, with a 67.5 per cent share; by its employees, with a 7.5 per cent share; and by Zurich Insurance Company, with a 25 per cent stake. Openwork will continue to distribute Zurich’s product lines in the UK.

The network, which was created in 2005, generated an operating profit of £5.5 million ($7.8 million) in 2014, an increase of more than 230 per cent on the £1.7 million profit earned in 2013. Figures for 2015 were not given.