Mortage broker John Charcol could be Towergate's next acquisition

Towergate is planning a move to acquire John Charcol, it is believed.

John Charcol, which was linked to a possible £50m sale in early 2008, is a mortgage broker but also has a general insurance arm - John Charcol Independent Insurance Brokers - specialising in home insurance.

Towergate is keen to expand its Independent Financial Advisors network and raised a £100m acquisition war chest to target regional firms when it launched Towergate Financial in August 2008.

However, in June 2009, the recession-hit business was bought fully into the Towergate group and its chairman, former Aviva chief executive Patrick Snowbal, stood down.

It became a new division of Towergate, reporting to chief executive Andy Homer.

Towergate and John Charcol were unavailable to comment.

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