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Cricket board's broker buys out rival firm
A YORKSHIRE insurance broker which supplies cover to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has snapped up a smaller rival to take its turnover to £22m.
Marshall Wooldridge, which insures 3,500 grass roots clubs, has bought H N H Insurance Brokers for an undisclosed sum.
The combined business will have 70 staff although H N H employees will not move from Garforth, Leeds, to the Marshall Wooldridge's office in Yeadon, Leeds.
Ray Geary, operations manager of Marshall Wooldridge, said the poor economic climate had not put off his firm arranging a deal.
"There are reasons to be cautious but we decided it was a good business proposition in the long term. It was too good an opportunity to miss.
"There is a synergy between the businesses. H N H Insurance has a good market reputation."
Marshall Wooldridge, which has industrial, commercial, professional and private clients, beat off competition from other insurance firms to agree the buyout but refused to say how much the deal was worth.
Managing director James Hall, said: "We are delighted to acquire a business of the standing of H N H and this acquisition fits in with our overall strategy for our business of strong organic growth and selective acquisitions.
"H N H is a business that matches our values regarding staff and customer care and we are delighted to have their team on board with us."
Derick Nichols, a director of H N H, which has a turnover of about 4.5m, said: "We thought the time was right to merge with a larger company and we thought Marshall Wooldridge was the ideal type to sell out to.
"They are a traditional insurance broker and we worked with Howard Marshall about 40 years ago for another broker."
Marshall Wooldridge, founded 35 years ago, is the accredited broker of the ECB. It supplies cover to clubs – although not the national team – against property damage and personal injury as part of its Extracover insurnace scheme.
The cricketing contract is worth about 1.6m a year in premium income and includes clubs such as Knaresborough and Killinghall in North Yorkshire. It also insures umpires' associations against their risks and liabilities and is one of the brokers which advises the majority of companies in the plant hire industry.
Mr Geary said Marshall Wooldridge was unlikely to make any more acquisitions, saying it would concentrate on integrating H N H.
Marshall Wooldridge recently gained chartered status, which is awarded to firms meeting certain professional standards. It is ranked in the top 100 independent brokers nationally.
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