The acquisition is Gallagher’s third of the year
Gallagher has acquired a controlling interest in Purple Bridge Group – the holding company of Vasek Insurance Services.
The deal includes Vasek’s appointed representative Insure My Villa, and subsidiary brands including Unoccupied Direct.
Nottingham-based Vasek was established 20 years ago by managing director Richard Berridge to provide specialist property insurance.
Berridge will continue to lead Vasek once it becomes part of Gallagher’s UK Retail division, reporting to Gareth Birch, managing director of Gallagher’s UK SME & Personal Lines businesses.
Michael Rea, chief executive of UK Retail for Gallagher, said: “As we continue to expand our business through acquisition alongside our focus on organic growth, Vasek is another fantastic addition.
“It’s a large scale, quality, property-led broker, offering specialist solutions that will be immediately accretive to Gallagher’s UK business.”
The acquisition is Gallagher’s third of the year, following that of Chester-based Risk Services in May and Southampton-based Portmore in October. Rea said more acquisitions could be expected in 2019 when he spoke to Insurance Times in May.
Speaking about this latest acquisition, he added: “Vasek’s complementary product range will further strengthen our established specialism in providing tailor-made solutions to property owners for harder-to-place risks, expanding our routes to market and ensuring we maximise customer choice.
“We look forward to working with Richard and his team to grow the business further.”
Product range
Since being founded in 1998, Vasek has broadened its product range.
Its team of 80 today specialise in cover for landlords, unoccupied property, commercial property, holiday & second homes, home insurance, high net worth, blocks of flats, rent guarantee and non-standard homes.
Richard Berridge said: “Over the last 20 years we’ve built a talented, specialist team of passionate and dedicated individuals who have developed great customer products and five-star service.
“That’s something we’re hugely proud of. It’s now the right time to come together with the right global partner to help us continue our strong growth story — and Gallagher is the perfect fit for us.
“We’re looking forward to benefiting from enhanced specialist support services and greater financial strength, to enable us to keep delivering for our customers.
“Gallagher’s investment is a brilliant testament to all the team has achieved so far and their belief in our future success.”
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