Birrell Group, which trades as Kingsway Insurance Services [Kingsway], the Midlands hub business of Global Risk Partners, has announced its second acquisition this month, following a deal to buy 100% of Home Counties Insurance Services Ltd [HCIS]. The news comes hard on the heels of Birrell Group’s purchase of Managed Risk Solutions reported earlier this week.
Founded in 1990, HCIS is based in Ampthill, near Bedford, and writes predominantly commercial insurance. All staff will remain with the business following the deal and HCIS will retain its brand.
James Birrell, director of Birrell Group, said that the deal underlined that the pace of acquisitions is picking up and, “while the lockdown put a temporary halt to deal flow in this part of the UK, we did not stop talking to our targets. HCIS is a well-run broker and the team are keen to take it to the next stage of its development, exploiting the benefits of being part of a bigger group.”
He added: “We are ambitious to build out our Midlands footprint as GRP’s hub business, so we are actively looking to bring more quality brokerages like HCIS (and Managed Risk Solutions) into the fold.”
HCIS MD Cliff Amos said: “Birrell Group put together a compelling proposition for HCIS and we are excited by the opportunity to further grow the business under their guidance. With the power of GRP behind us we will be able to offer our clients a significantly enhanced range of products and services.”
Stephen Ross, head of M&A at GRP, added: “A warm welcome to Cliff and the team at HCIS. We have made clear that the lockdown was a short blip in the steady progress we are making in growing the power and reach of our UK hubs.”
“Our latest series of hub acquisitions underscores that our pipeline across the UK remains extremely strong. We expect to announce more deals during Q4 this year.”
The deal has received regulatory approval and the consideration is undisclosed.