UK insurance broker County Group has completed the purchase of insurance agency Swinford Insurance Consultants for an undisclosed price.
Image: UK insurance agency Swinford acquired by County Group. Photo: courtesy of rawpixel/Unsplash.com.
Based in West Midlands, Swinford Insurance sells both personal and commercial lines. The company, which has been trading since 1982, sells products such as Betting Shop Scheme, Commercial Combined, Liability, Motor Fleet, High Net Worth, Landlords, Personal Motor, Home & Contents, Travel and Classic Car.
County Group CEO Dave Clapp said: “Swinford is a quite excellent fit, as the team, most of whom are long-serving employees, have built a book of loyal customers, and the result is a really attractive portfolio for our insurer partners.
“This really was simply too good an opportunity to miss, and we look forward to working with Swinford’s directors Chris Dunn and Mike Brevitt to invest in their business to develop and grow it further around their catchment.”
County Group said that both Chris Dunn and Mike Brevitt will remain post-deal and continue to run the business and handle their clients.
Dunn said: “We had interest from various parties about acquiring us but County was always our preferred route.”
“The opportunity to become not only part of County but also the wider GRP family was compelling, and will be the best fit for our customers and people alike.”
Swinford Insurance marks the third acquisition for County Group in the recent times. In November 2018, the company acquired Douglas Insurance, a Swansea-based commercial broker, for an undisclosed price.
A month prior to that, the UK insurance broker acquired Rahon Insurance, a Derby-based commercial broker. Rahon Insurance specializes in SME, commercial combined, leisure, motor trade, motor fleet, and property owners insurance.
In August 2018, County Group acquired a majority stake in Wigan-based Guardian Insurance Brokers for an undisclosed sum.
In July 2018, County Group was acquired by Global Risk Partners (GRP), a specialist investment vehicle for brokers and managing general agents (MGAs). Established in 2003, the Crewe-based County Group writes SME and personal lines insurance, and is considered to be among the top 25 UK insurance brokers.