QuestGates buys Howell Wild to deepen liability adjusting expertise
What's the deal? QuestGatesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired Howell Wild, a Manchester-based liability loss adjusting firm, strengthening its position as the UK's largest owner-managed loss adjusting and claims solutions business. Founded in 2001, Howell Wild handles complex liability claims, with expertise across product, public and employers' liability, construction and professional indemnity.
Why now? The deal lands amid acute recruitment pressure across UK claims and adjusting. Talent attraction and retention became the top business challenge for UK insurers in 2026, according to Gallagher BassettDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Carrier Perspective report, with 72% of UK respondents reporting greater difficulty finding qualified candidates and 48% citing shortages specifically in claims management and adjusting.
QuestGates has felt that pressure itself, recently expanding an internal training pathway for the next generation of adjusters. Acquiring an established specialist team offers a faster route to capability than recruitment alone.
What's the endgame? QuestGates is building a one-stop-shop model spanning loss adjusting, claims management, engineering, surveying and legal services. This is its second deal of 2026, following QGLaw's purchase of City law firm Miles Fanning Legal in February, which lifted QGLaw's headcount to 72 staff.
Chris Hall, group executive chairman, said Howell Wild was a "perfect fit," complementing the group's existing liability offering and its strategy of backing businesses that combine cultural fit with niche expertise.
Between the lines: The Birmingham-headquartered group operates from around a dozen locations across the UK and Ireland with roughly 650 staff. It took a minority investment from private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe in 2024 to fund acquisitions and technology development, and appointed Greg Laker as chief executive earlier this year to lead its evolution into a broader claims solutions provider.
Founder John Wild framed the exit as a natural step. "After more than two decades building Howell Wild into a respected name in liability adjusting, the time is right to join QuestGates and be part of a larger business," he said.
The signal: With liability claims becoming more technically demanding and specialist adjusting talent harder to find, QuestGates' continued investment points to industry consolidation around technical depth, rather than scale alone.
Read more: Insurance Business
