Market sources have tipped Peter Cullum to buy the commercial business of Hill House Hammond (HHH), which will be sold off as part of the company's closure.
Sources said that Cullum was in negotiations to buy HHH Business, which has premium income in the range of £55m-£60m, through either Towergate or Folgate.
NU said it is in "advanced discussions" with a potential buyer for the commercial insurance division, which includes ten business centres around the country.
A spokesman for Folgate said: "I can't comment on market speculation at this stage." It is believed that HHH Business would fetch between £10m and £15m.
Sources had suggested Country Mutual Insurance Brokers (CMIB) was involved in the deal, but chief executive Neil McKenzie said: "We're not in any discussions."
However, McKenzie said that CMIB was interested in acquiring the division. "As soon as the news broke today I did register our interest. We would seriously welcome the opportunity for further discussions."
Another broker interested in acquiring the business is VEGA, which is owned by the Primary Group. VEGA managing director Bob Screen was previously marketing and business insurance director of HHH.
Screen said that VEGA was not yet involved in discussions with NU. "We would be interested in acquiring the commercial business of HHH," Screen said. "I got the commercial division into the state it's in and it would make a lot of sense. It fits very much with what we want to do."
Scotland-based Giles Insurance Brokers has also declared its interest. Chief executive Chris Giles said that while he was "quite surprised" that NU had decided to close HHH, he thought several brokers would be interested in its commercial lines business. "We'd be one of them," Giles said.
Giles said that the commercial business never really fitted with HHH. "NU never felt that the commercial was part of HHH," Giles said. "It's never had any focus or strategy, it's business they've got by default."
Cox Insurance chief executive Neil Utley said that on the surface, the decision to close HHH did not appear to be good for brokers. Cox owns Equity Red Star, which is on the HHH panel, but Utley said the move had caught him by surprise.
Giles disagreed that the closure spelled doom for other high street brokers. "I think Budget would debate with you about that," he said.
