Business
Wesfarmers to sell the insurance broking and premium funding operations of its Insurance division to subsidiaries of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for $1,010 million

Perth, Australia, 2014-4-7 — /EPR Retail News/ — Wesfarmers today announced it has agreed to sell the insurance broking and premium funding operations of its Insurance division to subsidiaries of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) for $1,010 million. In addition to the purchase price, Wesfarmers will receive a distribution of approximately $150 million to repay funding of the premium funding operations.
On successful completion of the transaction, Wesfarmers expects to record a pre-tax profit on sale of approximately $310 million to $335 million.
Wesfarmers’ insurance broking businesses comprise OAMPS Insurance Brokers in Australia, OAMPS UK and Crombie Lockwood in New Zealand. The premium funding operations in Australia and New Zealand comprise Lumley Finance and Monument Premium Funding.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) is one of the largest risk management and insurance broking companies in the world. Headquartered in Illinois, USA and founded in 1927, it employs over 16,000 insurance professionals in 25 countries.
The sale is subject to a number of conditions precedent including obtaining approvals from the Foreign Investment Review Board in Australia, Overseas Investment Office in New Zealand and the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom. Achieving satisfaction of the conditions precedent is expected to take several months.
The decision to sell the insurance broking and premium funding operations follows the agreement announced on 16 December 2013 to sell the Australian and New Zealand underwriting businesses of Wesfarmers’ Insurance division to Insurance Australia Group (IAG). While this sale continues to remain subject to regulatory approvals, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has confirmed in April that it would not oppose Insurance Australia Group’s proposed acquisition of the Australian underwriting operations.
On the assumption of all regulatory approvals being received, the sale transactions to IAG and AJG collectively constitute the entire business operations of Wesfarmers Insurance division. In aggregate the two transactions are expected to provide to Wesfarmers pre-tax
proceeds of approximately $3 billion and result in a pre-tax profit of approximately $1,010 million to $1,085 million.
Wesfarmers Managing Director Richard Goyder said the OAMPS broking businesses have been part of the Wesfarmers Group since 2006, Crombie Lockwood and Monument Premium Funding since 2007 and Lumley Finance since 2003.
“We believe this sale agreement with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is in the best interests of our shareholders while offering the customers and employees of our insurance broking and premium funding businesses the opportunity to join a leading global insurance broking company with ambitions to expand in Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Goyder said.
Mr Goyder said that the agreements to sell the insurance underwriting operations and the broking and premium funding businesses were consistent with the company’s focus on disciplined portfolio management having regard to the long-term interests of shareholders.
“I thank all teams in the Insurance division for their outstanding efforts in growing and improving their businesses under Wesfarmers ownership and, most recently, for their continuing focus and dedication during the processes involved with transition to new ownership,” he said.
For further information:
Media
Cathy Bolt
Media & External Affairs Manager
+61 8 9327 4423 or +61 417 813 804
Investors
Mark Scatena
General Manager, Investor Relations & Planning
+61 8 9327 4416 or +61 439 979 398
Business
Casper expands virtual food hall model with Franklin Junction’s Host Kitchen® technology

GHENT, 14-Mar-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Franklin Junction partners with Casper, a modern day food hall offering 100% virtual orders for takeout and delivery, to expand iconic American restaurant brands to Benelux and France. Franklin Junction founder, Rishi Nigam, and Casper founder, Matthias Laga, presented their expansion plans at the recent International Ghost Kitchen Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Franklin Junction has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023 as they continue to deliver innovative technology solutions for restaurants in the US and now abroad. Leading the way with their proprietary Host Kitchen® model, Franklin Junction has grown into a full suite of solution services to empower restaurant success in the digital age. In 2022, Franklin Junction introduced its AI-powered digital food hall that allows consumers to order food and earn loyalty from multiple concepts in a single transaction and delivery.
“As industry leaders driving the growth of American restaurant brands in new markets, we have received a tremendous amount of interest to expand to the European market for a few years now,” shares Franklin Junction CEO Rishi Nigam. “After getting to know Matthias and the entire Casper team over the past year, we have full confidence that they are a trusted partner to expand globally with and we’re thrilled to bring iconic American fare to new diners across Europe.”
Casper launched in Ghent, Belgium and raised €5 million for their Series A in 2022 with the objective of creating a hybrid restaurant and food hall model where customers can walk-in to place orders for takeout or order through digital channels for delivery. In just a short time, Casper has expanded to over 10 locations in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, with an expansion goal of 50 kitchens by 2024.
“We’re very excited to partner with Franklin Junction and begin by introducing Nathan’s Famous’ authentic New York flavors to our European customers in the coming weeks,” states Matthias Laga, Co-founder and CEO of Casper. “Franklin Junction uniquely understands restaurants, multi-concept food halls, and restaurant eCommerce and their proprietary processes are extremely virtuous for all stakeholders.”
SOURCE: EuropaWire
Business
coop & spree launches a retail, business, and sports podcast called coop convos

The Retailer will interview CEOs, influencers, and professional athletes on a weekly basis
New York, New York, USA, 2022-Dec-23 — /EPR Network/ — coop & spree, the New York City based contemporary retailer, has launched a podcast called coop convos, which is all things business, retail, sports and wellness. Coop convos is hosted by coop & spree CEO and founder, Brooke S. Richman, who will interview various business leaders, tastemakers, and influencers in their aforementioned industries. Since Richman is an avid New York Knicks Fan (the Spree in coop & spree comes from her childhood pup’s name which paid homage to former Knick, Latrell Sprewell), she’s even interviewed and secured some former NBA stars.
The Podcast is available on over 10 platforms, and the first episode will likely air February 1st, 202 depending on the rifting process. To date, Richman has secured over 35 prestigious guests and has already recorded episodes with Stephanie Gottlieb, founder of Stephanie Gottlieb Fine Jewelry, Dale Stabler, wellness entrepreneur and co-founder of Sweats + The City, co-founder of the Orro + Theheard apps, and Allan Houston, the 2x NBA All-Star for the New York Knicks, Olympic Gold Medalist, and founder of FISLL,
Notable confirmed guests include Emily Faith Strauss, founder and designer of EF Collection, Helen Hall-Leland, CEO of Blender Bombs and Hustle Smoothie Bar, Alexa Leigh Meyer Mufson, founder and designer of Alexa Leigh, and John Wallace, former NBA star, current investor, philanthropist and New York Knick radio host.
During the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Richman moved temporarily from her NYC apartment to her childhood home in Greenwich, CT, where she learned how to code and created her e-comm website, coopandspreevip.com. Since her Elizabeth Street store in NYC was closed due to the pandemic, she had all her vendors ship her orders to her CT home where she fulfilled them. When she wasn’t opening new merchandise or packaging her clients’ orders, she would use Instagram live as a way to engage with her coop & spree audience, since she no longer could interact with them in person. She decided to start interviewing different designers and influencers, many of whom she knew and many of whom she had never met, and she absolutely loved it. So did her audience. It turned into a weekly tradition and the rest, as they say, is history. Not only did these weekly IG TV “interviews” create much needed connection at a time of unprecedented isolation, but also, they provided Richman, and coop & spree, with a new way of engaging with both customers and vendors.
Coop convos has the same format as Richman’s IG lives, where Richman focuses on each guest’s career path and personal story, in a relaxed format, that seems less like an interview and more like two old friends catching up. While the Podcast’s main goal is to provide valuable and informative insights and resources to those specifically interested in entrepreneurship, retail, sports, and wellness, Richman promises it’s also filled with lighthearted banter and just the right number of laughs.
WEBSITES:
coopandspreevip.com
coopconvos.com
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM:
@coopandspree
@coop_convos
ABOUT COOP & SPREE
coop & spree, the brainchild of founder and CEO Brooke S. Richman, first opened in August 2014 in downtown New York City’s Nolita neighborhood as a multi-brand contemporary women’s apparel, accessory, and jewelry boutique. While it was solely brick-and-mortar by design when it opened, coop & spree had to pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now a full-fledged omni-channel retailer with over 70 brands. It operates both a physical store in New York City’s NoHoc neighborhood, via appointment only, and has an e-commerce shopping site. In addition to selling women’s contemporary apparel, accessories, and jewelry, coop & spree has expanded its product offering to include an extensive assortment of children’s apparel and accessories, health and wellness products, paper goods, novelty items and more. coop & spree was just listed this month as a winner on the Inc. Magazine’s Best of Business 2022 list in the “Lean and Mean” category due to its unwavering commitment to philanthropy, specifically to NYC based non-profits which help underprivileged youths in NYC. It’s been featured in publications such as Women’s Wear Daily, The New York Times, US Weekly, Huffington Post, Business Insider and more.
For media inquires:
media@coopandspree.com
Business
ContactPigeon expands in Cyprus and sponsors the 14th e-Commerce Conference


NICOSIA, Cyprus, 2022-Sep-28 — /EPR Network/ — ContactPigeon, one of the leading omnichannel customer engagement platforms for retailers in Europe and the USA, expands its operations in Cyprus. By building up a special team of professionals that will be based in the neighboring country, ContactPigeon will be providing its customer engagement services to its cross-industry clients that are operating there. With this expansion, the Greek startup aims to consolidate its reach to the thriving Cyprus market.
Furthermore, ContactPigeon becomes an official sponsor for the 14th e-Commerce Conference that took place in Nicosia, Cyprus on the 20th of September 2022.

The E-Commerce Conference by IMH is a benchmark for the e-commerce industry in Cyprus. With industry experts as keynote speakers and leading businesses as sponsors and participants, the conference presents the upcoming, international trends in the e-commerce sector as well as case studies that provide attendees with valuable knowledge and insights. The 14th E-Commerce Conference is addressed to entrepreneurs, Commercial Managers, Marketing & Communication and advertising professionals, Digital Managers, and also those who are interested to start operating in the e-Commerce sector.
This year, the participants had the opportunity to meet with ContactPigeon members at its booth and learn about the company’s activities and the benefits of its omnichannel customer engagement platform.
About ContactPigeon
ContactPigeon empowers marketing leaders and business owners with the only omnichannel customer engagement platform built for retailers. The platform is designed to deliver perfectly timed and personalized messages for each customer, regardless of whether the point of contact is offline or online. The company has been awarded numerous industry awards and distinctions since 2015 and is also a member of the Pledge 1% corporate philanthropy movement. Its client base consists of hundreds of retailers in Europe and the USA such as Fujitsu, Tommy Hilfiger, GAP, and L’OREAL.
Contacts
Anna Fotopoulou
Content Marketing Coordinator
+30 211 8006178
marketing@contactpigeon.com
www.contactpigeon.com

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