Nexus plans to integrate the newly acquired firm with its existing trade credit broker

Nexus Group has acquired specialist trade credit broker Credit & Business Finance Ltd (CBF).

The acquisition is the first made by the group’s newly formed broking arm Xenia Broking Group. CBF, based in Hertfordshire, has 21 staff, and three regional satellite offices.

It is the 14th acquisition that Nexus has completed in its history, and the second trade credit broker, following the acquisition of Credit Risk Solutions (CRS) in October 2017.

The CBF management team of Trevor Price, Matthew Green and Mark Kennedy will continue to run the business post-transaction from their current offices. They will join the CRS directors on the board of Xenia.

Nexus announced it plans to integrate CBF and CRS “in due course” with the process being driven by the directors of Xenia.

It said the process would “unite the two biggest producers of ‘new to market’ business.”

Nexus believes it will hold a share in excess of 11% of the estimated £350m gross written premium for the UK trade credit broking market following the integration.

Strategy

Tim Coles, chief executive of Xenia, said: “We are excited to welcome the CBF team to Xenia and very much look forward to working with them. We previously set out our stall to establish the leading independent trade credit broker.

“For a business of the quality of CBF to join us this goes a long way to realising this vision and strategy.

“We believe that Xenia provides the right environment for those organisations who share our core values of client focus, innovation and entrepreneurialism, to work together as we develop this leading independent broking capability for the benefit of our clients.”

Trevor Price, managing director of CBF added: “This is a milestone in CBF’s journey. We are all delighted to be joining such a forward thinking and dynamic company as Nexus and in particular to be joining with CRS in building the Xenia business.

“This was too good an opportunity to pass up, particularly at such an exciting time in our market’s evolution.

“We see many opportunities ahead of us with the strength and reach of our combined businesses, and look forward to meeting growing demand for expert, independent advice and insight into financial risks in a rapidly changing environment.”

Topics