County Group buys Britannia Consultants Services in second acquisition of the week

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County Group’s managing director said he is expecting to close a number of deals in 2020

GRP-backed hub broker County Group has bought 100% of share capital in Britannia Consultants Services Limited [Britannia].

The acquisition has received regulatory approval.

Alastair Christopherson County Group’s managing director said: “Britannia is a quality local commercial insurance broker, based near our head office in Crewe.

“We have a number of deals in due diligence and I am expecting to close a number of those during the remainder of 2020.”

This is despite the ongoing pandemic.

Mike Bruce, group chief executive, at GRP, said: “County Group is on a roll, adding to its portfolio of excellent local businesses following the recent acquisition of CJN. In continuing to grow their regional footprint, Alastair and his team at County are proof positive of how our hub and spoke strategy creates value for all our stakeholders.”

It follows County Group buying Worcestershire broker CJN earlier this week.

Warm welcome

Britannia, based in Northwich, Cheshire, has been writing commercial lines insurance for over 10 years.

Christopherson said he warmly welcome directors Stephen Farrell and Joanne Ford and their team to County Group.

All staff will be remaining with the business at their current office and that there are no plans to remove the Britannia brand, Christopherson also confirmed.

He added: “Farrell has built Britannia’s success by focusing on high retention rates and a commitment to relationship management, the mark of a business with outstanding local connections and relationships. We have had our eye on them for some time, so we were delighted when [Farrell] and [Ford] agreed to become part of County.”

County Group was founded in 2003 and employs over 300 people.

Journey

Meanwhile, Farrell said: “County is the leading regional broker in our part of the world, with an incredible recent history. Becoming part of their story was always the most likely outcome once we decided we wanted to move to the next stage of our journey.

“In these uncertain times, it is vital to feel a valued part of a bigger group. The resources provided by both County and parent company GRP make me very optimistic about our future.”