North East-based Castle Insurance Services (Castle) has today announced the acquisition of its fellow Durham-based brokerage, M R Lonsdale. The deal is its first since becoming part of the Brown & Brown-owned insurance intermediary Global Risk Partners (GRP) in May 2022.
Founded in 1959, M R Lonsdale is a general insurance brokerage owned by three partners, Oliver Dobson, Philip Lonsdale and Nigel Bradley. Under Castle’s ownership, Dobson and the team will remain with the business while Lonsdale and Bradley are set to retire.
Castle MD Paul Younger noted that the deal includes the business and assets of M R Lonsdale & Partners and said the acquisition represents an excellent cultural fit which will add ‘significant scale’ to the business.
“The addition of Lonsdale – which has a broad local reach – complements our existing proposition and gives us the impetus for further growth,” he said. “Lonsdale is the oldest brokerage in the City of Durham and very well known in this part of the world. It’s great news that Oliver and his team are becoming part of Castle, where their local knowledge and experience will be of great value as we grow our footprint in the area.”
Commenting on behalf of Lonsdale, Dobson said: “I have known Paul for many years, and this is an exciting opportunity for our business to become part of Castle. The cultural alignment and strength that comes with being part of GRP and the link to GRP’s owners Brown & Brown were important attractions.”
Dobson said he looks forward to the next stage of his broking career and expressed his thanks to Lonsdale and Bradley, wishing them the very best for the future.
Younger added that Castle is looking forward to seeing Dobson play a significant role in supporting the brokerage’s longer-term growth plans as it seeks to become a leading broker in the North East.
“We continue to have a strong appetite for acquisitions of people and businesses that fit our profile,” he said. “We are keen to talk to business owners looking to create value from their life’s work and wish to join a larger, highly entrepreneurial team.”
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