Two brokers that have merged to specialise in the high net worth (HNW) market have ruled out acquisitions claiming that brokers who have acquired are losing clients.
Smith Ross Shane and Greenfield Risk Services are to join forces to form Smith Greenfield Services.
But managing director Steve Smith said it would have to look very carefully at any acquisition because they had been picking up clients that had been left unhappy after their broker was bought.
He said: “ We get a lot of clients from people who feel that they have lost a level of personal contact.
“In some cases, clients have become concerned about the number of acquisitions and have found that service levels have gone down.”
The new company will have a gross written premium of £3m, with projections to grow to £13m by 2012.
Smith feels the HNW market is an area not fully exploited by brokers.
The broker is working on a HNW wholesale joint venture, which will incorporate a substantial part of its growth.
