Gallagher checks next box on M&A list, nabs UK retail brokerage Devitt

Global broker  Arthur J Gallagher has agreed to acquire Romford, Essex-based insurance broker Devitt Insurance Services in its latest deal in the UK market.

The privately-owned Devitt focuses on coverages for motorcycles and motorhomes, serving about 130k customers through a team of 130 colleagues. Local staff and leadership will stay on at current locations in Romford and Ipswich, Suffolk, under the direction of SME and personal lines managing director Gareth Birch.

Gallagher CEO and chairman J. Patrick Gallagher (pictured) said:  "Devitt is a highly-regarded business and culturally is a great fit with Gallagher. The business's impressive specialist expertise is complementary to our existing UK Retail niche practices, extends our affinity partnership reach and further enhances our digital capabilities."

Gallagher only last week told investors it can marshal $4 billion for M&A over the course of the next two years to keep up the pace of brokerage consolidation.

CEO Gallagher said on January 28 that he had some 35 term sheets signed or in preparation, representing over $200 million in annualised revenues. Gallagher completed 18 tuck-in brokerage mergers during Q4 for an estimated $65 million in annualised revenues, the CEO reported.

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.