Pat Ryan's RSG bags Direct Group

Ryan Specialty Group (RSG), the parent company of Lloyd’s insurer Jubilee and brainchild of former Aon founder Pat Ryan, is acquiring Direct Group for an undisclosed sum.

RSG said the deal will “significantly strengthen its MGA and third party administration (TPA) capabilities in the UK”. This deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Direct Group has been a partner to Jubilee for a number of years. The acquisition will build on Jubilee’s existing TPA operation, Jubilee Service Solutions, and enable it to access a wider range of complementary services to strengthen its offering to brokers and clients, RSG said in a statement.

Doncaster-based Direct Group delivers a range of MGA and TPA services across the insurance industry and provides solutions to financial institutions, corporates and affinities.

Last month, RSG Europe and Jubilee chief executive Johnny Rowell told Insurance Times the company was eyeing acquisitions in the UK MGA space.

Following the acquisition Direct Group’s directors will remain with the business and play an “active role”. Direct Group was one of six new entrants in Insurance Times’s Top 50 Broker’s rankings, released in August, with a brokerage of £18.9m for the year to January 2012.

RSG founder and chairman Pat Ryan said: “Ryan Specialty Group’s acquisition of Direct Group represents an important milestone in the development of our company and Jubilee and furthers RSG’s expansion into the global community.”

Rowell said: “The acquisition of Direct Group significantly enhances Jubilee’s capabilities in the core consumer products area in the UK and provides growth opportunities for both Jubilee and Direct Group.”

Direct Group chief executive Derek Coles said: “We are delighted to be joining the Ryan Specialty Group at this important stage of its development.

“Having already worked closely with Jubilee we can be certain that the combined offering will deliver great benefits both internally and to our brokers and clients.”