Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

The two deals follow last year’s acquisition of another Bury St Edmunds broker, Country Mutual Insurance Brokers (CMIB) which had 400 staff nationally working out of 16 branches. No fees have been disclosed for any of the deals.

Alliance Insurance Management was set up six years ago and now controls premiums of £10m with a strong commercial business and specialist niches including asbestos surveying, crisis management and a fine dining scheme which boasts over half of the UK’s Top 10 restaurants.

The company, which has 30 staff in its offices in Bury and London, will continue to be led by CEO John McLaren-Stewart. The Alliance team will work alongside the current Towergate team in Bury St Edmunds to fulfil ambitious expansion plans in the region and to grow Towergate’s presence in East Anglia where they currently have offices in Colchester, Great Yarmouth and North Walsham.

McLaren-Stewart said the deal meant there was now a huge opportunity to grow those specialist areas: “We have worked hard to grow Alliance as a business which identifies with its clients to provide the best in corporate risk management and we will continue to do that with our current clients and with future ones. The service we offer will not change.

“We are very familiar with Towergate’s track record and the opportunities for our team to fulfil their full potential. Our combined levels of expertise and client services will be very tough to beat.

Towergate executive chairman, Peter Cullum, added: “This is one of those deals that was irresistible. It was an exciting proposition to be able to further cement our leading position in the region and create a regional broking capability that is as strong as you will find.”

Sutton Transmar is a leading specialist in haulage, removal and storage, freight forwarding and marine cargo risks. Under the deal, Sutton Transmar’s business and staff have transfered to Towergate Underwriting in Romford, strengthening Towergate’s proposition to third party brokers commercial accounts. Sutton Transmar control in excess of £4m of Gross Written Premium (GWP).

Towergate is Europe's largest independently owned insurance intermediary, offering 200 specialist insurance products and employing more than 3,500 people in 100 offices. The Group controls in excess of £1.5bn of GWP on an annualised basis.