County Group acquires Douglas Insurance
The County Group Ltd (County) has acquired Douglas Insurance Brokers Ltd (Douglas Insurance). The deal, which has received regulatory approval, is the third by County this year and comes hot on the heels of Guardian (Wigan) in July and Rahon (Derby) in October.
Dave Clapp, founder and CEO of County said: “I am delighted that yet another fantastic business has chosen to join our family. Thanks to the backing and support of GRP, we have a winning formula for vendors and long may it continue.”
Douglas Insurance specialises in commercial risks and is a family-owned business based in Swansea.
Ian Douglas, Managing Director, said: “After starting discussions with Dave earlier in the year and visiting the County HQ in Crewe, I was convinced they are the right fit for our business. I now look forward to working with the whole team over the coming years to build out our presence in Wales.”
Mike Bruce, GRP’s CEO Broking, said: “We knew that County had a strong pipeline when we invested at the beginning of this year, and that investment is paying off with a surge in top and bottom line growth.”
He added: “This latest move takes them another step toward their aim of doubling in size within five years. I warmly welcome Ian and his team to GRP and look forward to a fruitful and successful future with them.”
Dave Clapp explained that County had previously completed three very successful acquisitions in North Wales and, three years ago, opened an office in Cardiff.
He said: “Cardiff has done phenomenally well and we see this venture into Swansea as a natural extension of our current footprint, bringing the capability to service even more customers across Wales.”
The County Group was founded in 2003 by CEO Dave Clapp. County has since grown both organically and through acquisitions, thanks to the Group’s focus on high quality people delivering a great service to its customers. County employs nearly 300 people and won Insurance Broker of the Year at the 2017 BIA Awards. County’s strategy is to continue the development of its branch network by acquiring commercial and community brokers across its region.
Global Risk Partners Limited (GRP) acquires brokers, managing general agents (MGAs) and teams trading in the UK retail and global, specialty, insurance markets. IGRP was established in 2013 by Peter Cullum, chairman and David Margrett, chief executive.
The company has acquired 36 businesses to date and handles in excess of £700m GWP.