Howden’s Talent War Results in $23M Revenue Loss for Brown & Brown, According to CEO
By L.S. Howard
The ongoing talent war driven by Howden has significantly impacted Brown & Brown, resulting in a loss of $23 million in revenue. J. Powell Brown, the broker’s president and CEO, disclosed this during an analysts’ call on January 27, where he discussed the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2025.
“As of today, approximately 275 of our former teammates have joined this start-up, taking with them customers currently representing known annual revenues of $23 million,” Brown stated. He emphasized that the majority of these former employees were not producers but were involved in the employee benefits sector.
Howden launched its U.S. subsidiary in August 2025. Following this, Brown & Brown filed a lawsuit against Howden in December, joining other brokers such as Alliant, Aon, Marsh, and Willis Towers Watson in seeking legal recourse for the alleged poaching of employees.
During the analysts’ call, Brown refrained from mentioning Howden by name, referring to it simply as “the start-up.” He underscored his belief in healthy competition, stating, “That’s what makes great companies, great leaders, and great individuals. We also believe in integrity, honesty, loyalty, and trust.”
However, he expressed concern over what he described as a “highly coordinated plan” by the start-up to recruit entire teams from competitors, taking valuable information and customers in the process. Brown confirmed that other U.S. brokers are also employing aggressive hiring tactics.
“The start-up firm [Howden US] is one of many that are aggressively looking to hire people. The question is how they’re doing it,” he remarked. He added that when Brown & Brown hires individuals from other firms, they are expected to adhere to their existing contracts, highlighting a difference in approach with the start-up.
Strong Performance
Despite the revenue loss due to employee departures, Brown characterized the company’s fourth-quarter results as a continuation of “another year of strong top and bottom-line financial performance.” He noted that for the full year, the company achieved a 23% revenue growth through a mix of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), organic growth, and robust contingent commission increases.
“We expanded our margins materially and grew our cash flow from operations by nearly 24%. This strong performance was in spite of softening catastrophe property rates and economies returning to more normal growth levels,” Brown added.
Record M&A Year
A significant highlight for the year was the acquisition of Accession Risk Management, marking Brown & Brown’s largest-ever acquisition, which was first announced in June and completed in August. The company experienced a record year for M&A, adding approximately $1.8 billion in annual revenue from 43 acquisitions, with Accession being the largest.
For the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2025, Brown & Brown reported total revenues of $1.6 billion, reflecting an increase of $423 million, or 35.7%, compared to the same quarter the previous year. However, organic revenue saw a decrease of 2.8%, which was described as “disappointing” in a market note from equities analyst Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW). Brown attributed this decline primarily to flood claims processing revenue recognized in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
Net income attributable to the company for Q4 was $264 million, up $54 million, or 25.7%, compared to the same quarter last year. For the 12 months ending December 31, Brown & Brown reported total revenue of $5.9 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion, or 22.8%, compared to 2024, with organic revenue rising by 2.8%. Full-year net income attributable to the company was $1.1 billion, reflecting an increase of $61 million, or 6.1%, compared to the previous year.
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By L.S. Howard
The ongoing talent war driven by Howden has significantly impacted Brown & Brown, resulting in a loss of $23 million in revenue. J. Powell Brown, the broker’s president and CEO, disclosed this during an analysts’ call on January 27, where he discussed the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2025.
“As of today, approximately 275 of our former teammates have joined this start-up, taking with them customers currently representing known annual revenues of $23 million,” Brown stated. He emphasized that the majority of these former employees were not producers but were involved in the employee benefits sector.
Howden launched its U.S. subsidiary in August 2025. Following this, Brown & Brown filed a lawsuit against Howden in December, joining other brokers such as Alliant, Aon, Marsh, and Willis Towers Watson in seeking legal recourse for the alleged poaching of employees.
During the analysts’ call, Brown refrained from mentioning Howden by name, referring to it simply as “the start-up.” He underscored his belief in healthy competition, stating, “That’s what makes great companies, great leaders, and great individuals. We also believe in integrity, honesty, loyalty, and trust.”
However, he expressed concern over what he described as a “highly coordinated plan” by the start-up to recruit entire teams from competitors, taking valuable information and customers in the process. Brown confirmed that other U.S. brokers are also employing aggressive hiring tactics.
“The start-up firm [Howden US] is one of many that are aggressively looking to hire people. The question is how they’re doing it,” he remarked. He added that when Brown & Brown hires individuals from other firms, they are expected to adhere to their existing contracts, highlighting a difference in approach with the start-up.
Strong Performance
Despite the revenue loss due to employee departures, Brown characterized the company’s fourth-quarter results as a continuation of “another year of strong top and bottom-line financial performance.” He noted that for the full year, the company achieved a 23% revenue growth through a mix of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), organic growth, and robust contingent commission increases.
“We expanded our margins materially and grew our cash flow from operations by nearly 24%. This strong performance was in spite of softening catastrophe property rates and economies returning to more normal growth levels,” Brown added.
Record M&A Year
A significant highlight for the year was the acquisition of Accession Risk Management, marking Brown & Brown’s largest-ever acquisition, which was first announced in June and completed in August. The company experienced a record year for M&A, adding approximately $1.8 billion in annual revenue from 43 acquisitions, with Accession being the largest.
For the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2025, Brown & Brown reported total revenues of $1.6 billion, reflecting an increase of $423 million, or 35.7%, compared to the same quarter the previous year. However, organic revenue saw a decrease of 2.8%, which was described as “disappointing” in a market note from equities analyst Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW). Brown attributed this decline primarily to flood claims processing revenue recognized in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
Net income attributable to the company for Q4 was $264 million, up $54 million, or 25.7%, compared to the same quarter last year. For the 12 months ending December 31, Brown & Brown reported total revenue of $5.9 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion, or 22.8%, compared to 2024, with organic revenue rising by 2.8%. Full-year net income attributable to the company was $1.1 billion, reflecting an increase of $61 million, or 6.1%, compared to the previous year.
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