Highway's retail division has acquired MRB Insurance Brokers, which trades as 1st Quote, propelling them into the UK top 12 general insurance intermediaries.
The acquisition, which cost Highway £6.6m plus further performance-related payments, brings a further 60,000 policies to Highway Retail. The total number of policies now handled by the company is over 170,000.
The previous owner of Romford-based MRB, Martin Brown, remains on the MRB board as a non-executive director, while the remainder of the management team will continue to develop the business as part of Highway Retail.
Paul Cosh, managing director of Highway Retail, said he saw the acquisition as a huge leap towards becoming a top 10 general insurance intermediary. In a statement, he said: "We have a lot more growth planned for the future."
MRB generates personal lines business from both on-page advertising and the internet. The development of its own systems and websites has also enabled the broker to produce white-label solutions for trading partners.