Sidonie Flook

National Friendly is a Bristol-based mutual that provides health cover and savings and investment products. It began looking into buying the telephony arm of financial advice firm AWD Chase de Vere just when the company was experiencing a lot of change, having just completed a rebrand.

The acquisition involved the transfer of AWD staff to National Friendly, boosting the workforce to 80, an increase of more than 25 per cent. It was therefore crucial for HR to be involved in the process from the start. Even before the acquisition was confirmed we knew it was important to assess the business impact it would have.