By Ryan Hewlett

May 28 - (The Insurer) - Ex-Acquinex duo Paul Smith and Adam Love have hit back against their former employer in an acrimonious UK poaching dispute over a team move to Howden’s Dual, claiming they left the PIB-owned MGA out of unhappiness over its “culture of incompetence and short-termism.”

PIB is suing Howden in the UK High Court over the recruitment by Dual of warranty and indemnity (W&I) MGA Acquinex’s head of transactional risks Smith, Northern Europe team leader Love and their teams, in a case first reported by The Insurer in January.

In particulars of claim filed by PIB in March, the private equity-backed consolidator accused the duo of breaching their duties by working with Howden Group and its executives to orchestrate a team move which saw a total of 32 of its employees resign for Dual on January 10, 2025.

In defence submissions, filed in April and recently made public, both Smith and Love admitted that there was a “common design” between the duo, Dual and members of the Howden Group to develop a UK and international W&I offering and to hire Acquinex employees. The duo admitted that the actions included the use of "unlawful means", but said PIB and Acquinex have "failed to plead adequately" that the actions were intended to purposefully harm the Acquinex business or that financial damage had actually occurred.

Instead, Smith and Love said in the defence submissions that their actions were motivated by their own desire to exit the business.

“Mr Smith’s and Mr Love’s intention was to further their own careers and interests … on the facts of this case, any harm that the claimants may have suffered as a result of Mr Smith’s and/or Mr Love’s unlawful activity would have been suffered in any event even had they acted lawfully,” they said.

The duo further argued that they, along with the other resigning employees, would have made the decision to exit Acquinex in any case, attributing the decision to changes to “the culture and economics” of the Acquinex business following its March 2021 sale to PIB Group.

Smith and Love say they warned Acquinex, its co-founders Chris Thompson and Chris Jackson, and PIB Group that members of the Howden Group were in recruitment discussions with staff, but said the warnings were ignored and that the claimants “proved unwilling or unable to take the steps necessary” to incentivise and retain staff.

“The PIB Acquisition changed the culture and economics of the Acquinex business to the disadvantage of its workforce. Unless this was remedied, staff would become disincentivised and demoralised, and staff would ‘vote with their feet’,” Smith and Love said.

The duo also argue that the team was left disincentivised after the Acquinex co-founders became “increasingly disengaged” with the business and their focus shifted to “maximising the value of their earn-out benefits” following the sale to PIB.

They further argue that PIB Group’s desire for “impractically high” EBITDA margins created stress for Acquinex employees and hindered growth in the business, something they claim was made worse in early 2024 while PIB Group and its PE backers Apax Partners and Carlyle Group sought to refinance or exit the group.

“As a result of the founders’ disengagement and focus on their own self-interest and the preoccupation with the PE Re-Fi, Acquinex failed to develop any or any credible plans for growth,” they said.

“This was a source of frustration and demoralisation for Acquinex’s senior management and senior underwriters.”

In addition to Smith and Love, the legal claim brought by PIB and Acquinex also targets Howden Group Holdings, Howden Group Services, Dual International, Dual Group CEO Richard Clapham and group founder David Howden.

PIB claims Howden and Dual secured a “significant unlawful springboard advantage” by recruiting the Acquinex team, arguing that Dual did not have a significant W&I market presence.

In separate defence submissions seen by The Insurer, the Howden defendants denied the allegation and also hit out at the claim that the team move amounted to a “Howden modus operandi.”

Dual declined to comment.

In a statement to The Insurer, Brendan McManus, CEO of PIB Group, said: "We remain committed to this process, and it is our policy not to comment on ongoing legal proceedings."