CCV throws support behind sport and leisure start-up

CCV has backed its newly launched sport and leisure broker with the firepower to make acquisitions and create a managing general agency (MGA).

Infinity Specialist Insurance, run by a former Kerry London team, will target retail and wholesale broker business.

Operating as a CCV subsidiary, it will also launch several underwriting facilities, including an online quote-and-buy facility.

The new operation has held early discussions with insurers about creating an MGA.

Infinity will act as a wholesale broker for CCV and sister company Towergate, including Broker Network, distributing through Towergate-owned IT platforms such as Open GI and PowerPlace.

Its five-strong team, which is headed by managing director Chris Wright, all moved over from Kerry London in November, as predicted by Insurance Times.

Wright has been joined at Infinity by Richard Hancock, Jeremy Prowse, Lee Bonnett and Ollie Barrett, all of whom have become directors of the new company.

At Kerry London, the team was backed by Ageas, then Fortis, which provided capacity in a five-year MGA agreement.

Wright said Infinity was in talks with a number of insurers over providing new capacity.

“We’ve got a lot of interest from insurers, but we haven’t signed on the dotted line yet. We are still in the planning stage,” he said.

Wright added that there was a “huge amount of opportunity” for bolt-on acquisitions, supported by CCV.

CCV has completed 12 acquisitions in 2010. Its most recent takeover was Darlington-based BIB Group, which added around £30m in gross written premium to CCV. The insurance group’s total combined GWP is expected to reach £300m by the end of this year.

Chief executive Michael Rea is aiming to make CCV a top 10 UK broker, with a GWP of almost £500m by the end of 2012, through acquisition and organic growth.

The CCV business will be closely integrated with Towergate in the coming years, prior to a flotation in 2013.

Next year, Towergate will establish a joint merger and acquisition committee with CCV, which is likely to be chaired by chief executive Andy Homer, to avoid conflicts with its sister business.