Bollington Wilson Insurers buy Prophet Trade Credit Ltd.
Brokerage firm Bollington Wilson Insurers has completed a deal to buy Harrogate-based broker Prophet Trade Credit Ltd. as part of a bigger expansion plan for 2020. Dow Schofield Watts’ Corporate Finance and Transaction Support teams assisted Bollington Wilson.
The sale adds over £4 million ($5.2 million) gross written premium and six employees to the Bollington Wilson Group, which specializes in property, motor, courier and fleet cover, Bollington said. It did not disclose the terms of the deal.
Paul Moors, CEO of Bollington Wilson, said Prophet, which specializes in trade credit insurance, debt recovery and credit information and has been trading since 2001, is a “perfect fit.”
“Adding Prophet to the Bollington portfolio gives our corporate clients access to the trade credit insurance market and specialist advice on the full range of options when considering how best to manage their trade credit risks,” Moors said.
The acquisition is part of Bollington’s strategy to add complementary businesses to its group to increase the range of services available to clients, Moors said.
It comes soon after Bollington purchased Ashgrove Insurance Services, a commercial broker based in Britain’s northwest.
The company said it expects to announce more acquisitions later in 2020.
The Bollington Wilson Group was formed from a merger of Bollington Insurance Brokers and Wilsons Insurance Brokers, both of which were based in the northwest of the U.K. Bollington now operates out of six offices and manages more than £170 million of gross written premium.
The new combined group serves 140,000 clients, according to its website. The group umbrella includes brands such as Bollington Insurance, ChoiceQuote Insurance Services, Quoteline Direct and Wilsons. The brokers serve businesses as well as charities and individuals.
David Encell, managing director of Prophet Group, said his firm will benefit from joining one of the largest independent insurance brokers in Britain.
“We are delighted to conclude this deal with Bollington, which is great news for our clients,” Encell said. “We know that Prophet has a bright future as part of Bollington.”
Prophet Group was advised by Stewart Cape, Ed Crocker and Anthony West of KPMG. Prophet’s shareholders were represented in the deal by James Foster, Simon Procter and Sophie Davies of Shoosmiths LLP.
Bollington Wilson was also advised by DWF LLP.
