Royal & Sun Alliance has acquired Martello Underwriting Limited for £38.5m.
Martello is a specialist provider of professional indemnity insurance (PI) to small and medium sized professional practices in the UK, including accountants, architects, solicitors and surveyors.
The acquisition is due to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2006, and is expected to generate annual premiums of £40m in 2007.
Bridget McIntyre, UK chief executive, Royal & SunAlliance, said: “This transaction offers an ideal opportunity for R&SA to strengthen its position in the Professional Indemnity market. The combination of Royal & SunAlliance's technical excellence and distribution network and Martello's dedicated expertise in the PI market, creates an attractive platform from which to drive profitable growth.”
Highlighting the already "significant connection" between the two entities, Michael Wood, chief executive of Martello, added: “...this deal provides not only uniformity and continuity of underwriting capacity, but the opportunity to bring new products to brokers and customers which will help us in our next phase of development.”
