Beckett sells to Country Mutual

Country Mutual Insurance Brokers (CMIB) acquired the general insurance broking business of The Beckett Group this week. The resulting broker will control £160m of premium per year, making it the 23rd largest UK insurance broker.

CMIB is also in acquisition talks with two or three commercial brokers in the North East and Scotland.

Managing director Neil McKenzie said "on-going discussions" with a number of commercial lines brokers were taking place.

"Our business is 80% commercial so you can draw your own conclusions on which type of business we are interested in."

The combined group's brokerage of £25.6m puts it in league with THB Group, PWS Holdings and Monument Insurance Brokers and into the top 25 UK brokers, according to Insurance Times Top 50 Brokers.

Overall CMIB, which is owned by insurer NFU Mutual, will now control a combined premium income of £160m.

McKenzie would not be drawn on the "financial arrangements" of the deal and said The Beckett Group's value was "evaluated on CMIB's own financial model".

He would not elaborate on whether this was based on the broker's profit or the multiple of brokerage. The Beckett Group in 2002 posted a pre-tax profit of £850,000 and its brokerage for the same year was £9.738m.

McKenzie said the systems integration of the two groups would be relatively smooth because both companies had signed up to the Sirius system last year.

He also denied rumours that NFU or CMIB had made an investment in Total Broker Solutions (TBS), Bob Beckett's new network.

"We have no financial interest in TBS and it is an independent entity under the management of Mike Williams."

Beckett will join the CMIB board with special responsibility for strategic relationships.

Bob Beckett will retain the IFA and asset management business of The Beckett Group under the name Beckett Investment Management. Beckett will also remain chairman of TBS.