Crotty Insurance, the Dublin-based commercial broker that was acquired by Global Risk Partners (GRP) in September 2020, has made its first acquisition under GRP ownership with the purchase of Martin Insurance (Martin).
Martin, which was founded in 1980 by Seamus Martin, is a family business based in Cavan.
Now under the leadership of Seamus’ son James Martin, it provides a wide range of commercial insurance including airside, marine & cargo, PI, contractors, construction, apartment block and motor fleet.
Eoin Greene, Crotty CEO, hailed the acquisition as “a big step forward for Crotty. We have made no secret of our desire to grow inorganically when the right opportunity arises.”
“Martin is a quality business and marks the first of what we hope will be a number of deals in the Republic of Ireland.”
Martin will retain its office in Cavan and its branding, while the entire team will remain with the business in Cavan and become part of the Crotty team on completion.
James Martin said: “We are delighted to be joining Crotty and the wider GRP Group. Crotty is, like ours, a business insurance specialist with a focus on customer service and technical expertise. Eoin and the Crotty team have a great understanding of the importance we attach to the community we serve. Our customers will benefit from wider access to insurance markets and our staff can look forward to having the support of a larger team and more sway with insurers.”
Eoin said: “These have, no doubt, been challenging times for all businesses in the country during the pandemic, but we hope that better economic times lie ahead. We will want to and will be playing our part in helping businesses and our clients in every way we can.”
Commenting on the transaction, GRP’s head of M&A, Stephen Ross, said: “We’re confident that our retail broking model, which has driven our outstanding performance in the UK, will be equally effective in Ireland.”
“The first acquisition is always critical, and given the quality of this acquisition, we believe it will generate momentum for Crotty in the Irish broking market, where we have a strong appetite to do further deals for brokerages such as Martin Insurance.”
‘I warmly welcome James Martin and his colleagues to GRP, and wish them every future success” Stephen added.