Consolidator eyes growth in East of England region

Mark Hodges Towergate

Towergate has completed the acquisition of Norwich and Peterborough Insurance Brokers (NPIB) from Norwich and Peterborough Building Society.

The deal was first mooted in September when Insurance Times reported that the consolidator had entered into a period of exclusivity with NPIB.

NPIB becomes Towergate’s 25th group-wide acquisition of 2012.

All of NPIB’s 60 staff will transfer to Towergate, which said it aims to “significantly increase its presence in the East of England”.

As part of the agreement, those teams currently based in building society branches will be relocated to local Towergate Group locations. 

Steve Kendall, currently sales and operations director at NPIB, will continue to lead the business.

Towergate group chief executive Mark Hodges said: “NPIB is a respected broking operation, providing first rate service to its customers. Towergate provides an ideal home for this business, given our existing footprint in the East of England and our ambitions to grow in the region.

“We are delighted to have reached the significant milestone of 25 acquisitions in 2012, a landmark that is testament to our flexible and efficient acquisition strategy.“

NPIB general manager sales and marketing Mike Sketch added: “We have an existing relationship with Towergate, having distributed their products successfully for many years within NPIB. The sale of the business to the Towergate Group ensures that our customers can expect the same level of personal, quality service moving forward alongside access to the best insurance products.

“I am delighted that NPIB will now move onto ownership, which will continue to build on the hard work that has taken place over many years to build a quality business.”