R25m empowerment deal sets new tone for SA loss adjusting industry

Crawford & Company International has agreed to sell its controlling 74.90 percent equity stake in Crawford & Company SA to black empowerment partner Chedza International Holdings (Pty) Ltd which previously held a 25.10 percent shareholding. As part of the transaction will become Crawford & Company’s Associate in Sub-Saharan Africa trading as Crawford & Company SA.

Crawford is the world's largest independent provider of claims management solutions to the risk management and insurance industry as well as self-insured entities, with an expansive global network serving clients in more than 70 countries.

"Although we have converted our relationship to one of an Associate, Crawford will continue to be closely linked with Chedza as it represents Crawford’s interests across Sub-Saharan Africa. The existing leadership team and staff will remain and the company will continue to trade as Crawford & Company SA”, says Mark Harman, Crawford & Company Chief Executive Officer for Continental Europe, Middle East & Africa.

"These changes will allow us to be more innovative in our business offering and position the company to meet the challenges and opportunities of a strong locally-owned presence with a family bond to a global powerhouse.”

The ground-breaking transaction will now see ‘Crawford & Company SA’ changing its business perspective from being one of global looking inwards, to now being South African looking outwards.

"As the first black-owned loss adjusting company in South Africa we now have the ability to focus on transforming the profession and adapting our service offerings to the South African and African markets.

"We are now better placed to meet government’s development agenda while being more relevant in making a meaningful contribution in the socio-economic sphere,” Mpho Mahanyele, CEO of Chedza International Holdings (Pty) Ltd explains.

Norman Hornby, Managing Director, adds: "Crawford SA has evolved from a minority shareholder association with Chedza to an association agreement with Crawford & Company. We have now developed a unique structure in which to meet the requirements of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) legislation as well as Crawford’s global footprint, and we believe that this structure will optimize the potential of the local operation.

"This relationship between the respective parties was built on the principles of skills transfer from Crawford to Chedza and growth facilitation from Chedza to Crawford in the SA business environment.”

Hornby said the methodology used by Chedza over the past seven years to facilitate the B-BBEE transformation and growth of Crawford & Company SA could be used as a blueprint for other multinationals who do, or want to do, business in South Africa but are apprehensive about complying with the onerous scorecard requirements.

"The solution offered by Chedza would be attractive to global companies who seek and/or have a footprint in South Africa but find the BEE regulatory environment to be an impediment.”

Hornby said the company is now moving into an exciting new era with a formidable team of experts whose skills are called upon by companies and underwriters across the continent.

Crawford & Company SA will integrate its wealth of international experience and expertise with the best of local expertise and region specific knowledge to offer its clients a combination of resources, skills and precise data.

Hornby added that the company could proudly boast some of the world’s leading loss adjusters.

One of them, said Hornby, is Terry Ward who heads up global mining out of South Africa and attends to complex losses. As a result of his work, he is called upon by companies around the world for his loss adjusting expertise.

Another industry expert is Richard Jackson who has 33 years of experience in fire, and manages the portfolio for two of the country’s biggest transport parastatals.

Mahanyele added that Crawford & Company SA will now position its services to these transport parastatals who are embarking on one of the largest capital expenditure programs over the next ten years. In addition, the empowerment deal positions the company to attract more youth to the profession by expanding their in-house training programme and service offerings to support government’s priorities in terms of job creation and skills development.

The Crawford & Company SA team is confident that the shareholding and internal business structure sets them up for future growth.