Heath Crawford and Foster Limited (HCF) is no stranger to acquisitions. Only last year the Watford-headquartered broking firm announced a hat-trick of acquisitions and today it has revealed its acquisition of two more insurance brokers – Merenda & Co and Essex Financial Management Ltd (General Insurance Division).
Merenda & Co Limited, which was formed in 1966, is an insurance broker based in Southend-on-Sea while Essex Financial Management (EFM), which was founded in 1991, is an insurance and financial services company based in Leigh-on-Sea. The two businesses provide personal lines and commercial insurance services to a long-standing and loyal customer base.
As per the terms of the transactions, owners Colin and Angela Merenda (Merenda Insurance) and Mark Fellman (EFM Ltd) will remain in the larger HCF business and continue to look after their long-standing clients.
The deals bring HCF’s GWP to over £20 million. The group, which was founded in 1982 and has traded for almost 40 years has doubled in size over the last 18 months. It now boasts a team of more than 35 people located in both the north and south of England, and has two further deals in the pipeline to complete in the summer of 2022.
HCF is headed up by Paul Weinberg (pictured) and has grown through a blend of organic growth and carefully selected acquisitions. Commenting on the news, Weinberg said he is very pleased to have completed the two deals in early 2022 and noted that both companies are a strong fit for HCF.
“Our acquisition model is simple. We talk to brokers whereby the owners want to sell to secure their financial future, perhaps take off some pressure of running the business top to bottom daily but aren’t necessarily ready to retire just yet,” he said. “That’s why every single acquisition HCF have done to date has involved the previous owners remaining within the business and keeping their close relationship with their clients moving forward.
“That’s what made the business attractive in the first place and how HCF ourselves have built our client base.”
