SRG snaps up Lloyd’s broker in ‘largest deal to date’

Specialist Risk Group (SRG) has agreed to acquire CBC Partnership in its “largest deal to date”, a statement released yesterday (7 December 2023) announced.

London-based Lloyd’s insurance broker CBC was established following a management buyout in February 2017 and specialises in professional lines. Its seven divisions include art and private clients, corporate risks, international, healthcare, specialty, MGA and binding authorities and motor fleets.

CBC will retain its brand as part of the move and its team of 100 will continue to be led by CBC chairman Andrew Wallas and chief executive Rob Cottingham from its headquarters in the city.

SRG chief executive Warren Downey said the group was “thrilled to welcome CBC to join us in the next chapter of the SRG story”.

“CBC is a fantastic business and its culture and specialisms perfectly align with us at SRG,” he added.

“We are excited to work with chairman Andrew Wallas and chief executive Rob Cottingham and we warmly welcome our new colleagues from CBC and look forward to working together on what will be an exciting future for our business.”

SRG said that CBC’s expertise in professional lines would “neatly complement SRG’s existing capabilities in this space, enhancing its extensive portfolio of specialist businesses in the UK, Ireland, and internationally”.

The deal is SRG’s 19^th acquisition since the brand launched in 2019 and the firm’s sxith in 2023.

Business synergy

CBC, meanwhile, highlighted that “choosing a partner for the next chapter of CBC was critical and potentially hazardous”. But, after several meetings with SRG’s senior management team, it “quickly became clear that there was a special opportunity” on the cards.

“When we first started speaking to SRG we weren’t considering selling CBC, however, we quickly realised the synergy between the two businesses,” Wallas said.

“We admire the growth that SRG has achieved since its launch, whilst remaining committed to its people.”

Specialist Risk Investments Limited (SRIL) was renamed and rebranded to SRG in January 2020.

“We are incredibly proud of the business we have built at CBC Partnership. We have valued accountability in all our interactions with each other, our clients and our partners and this has been proven to foster exponential growth,” Wallas added.

“Under the leadership of Rob Cottingham, we have created a culture focused business which has proved financially successful and personally fulfilling.

“We are looking forward to this next stage for CBC and, with the support of SRG, our team will continue to access outstanding opportunities from which our clients and partners will also benefit.”