The acquisitions mark Aston Lark’s foray into Northern Ireland and also into Yorkshire
Aston Lark acquires Risk Alliance and Risk Alliance International. (Credit: Pete Linforth from Pixabay)
Aston Lark has acquired two brokers Risk Alliance and Risk Alliance International from UK-based Risk Alliance Group, a subsidiary of underwriting group Accelerant.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by Aston Lark, which is a UK-based chartered insurance broker owned by Goldman Sachs.
Risk Alliance is a West Yorkshire-based specialist schemes broker. It is said to have specialisation in photographers, the leisure industry, and non-standard household.
On the other hand, Risk Alliance International is a Northern Ireland-based broker with a special focus on the haulage and logistics sectors.
The seller of the two brokers – Risk Alliance Group, which also owns Nationwide Broker Services (NBS), was acquired by Accelerant last year.
Accelerant distribution head Chris Lee-Smith said: “Accelerant is a pure underwriting group and, as such, it was always our intention to partner with a broker to find the next home for the broking businesses acquired with the acquisition of Risk Alliance Group.
“Aston Lark were the natural partner for us as we wanted to find an excellent long-term home for the quality teams in Belfast and Bingley. This deal leaves Accelerant with NBS, which is a pure underwriting entity.”
The transaction involves the transfer of the employees of the two brokers in Bingley and Belfast to Aston Lark.
Risk Alliance and Risk Alliance International have a combined gross written premium (GWP) of £12m.
Aston Lark group CEO Peter Blanc said: “Geographically, both acquisitions are an excellent fit for Aston Lark giving us our first presence in Northern Ireland and our first presence in Yorkshire.
“We look forward to working with the management teams, comprising Adrian Wilson and Gareth Morgan in Belfast and Daphne Pickles, Daniel Hobson and Abbie Mason in Bingley, to help them to grow in their various areas of specialism.”
Earlier this month, Aston Lark acquired MS Amlin’s marine pleasure craft book of business which has £10m of GWP.