Verlingue is “exploring” further opportunities to expand its business following its acquisition of independent Gloucester-based Brunsdon Employee Benefits for an undisclosed sum.
Brunsdon Employee Benefits provides schemes and advice to a range of clients in the South West and across the UK.
Following the deal which is subject to regulatory approval, the Brunsdon Employee Benefits business will immediately adopt the Verlingue brand and its team will join Verlingue. Brunsdon managing director Seb Merritt will take on the role of head of employee benefits reporting into Verlingue CEO Mike Latham (pictured).
Mark Pugh, current head of employee benefits, will relinquish his previous operational responsibilities and concentrate on expanding and delivering Verlingue’s multinational, major client and partnership propositions.
The acquisition follows Verlingue’s launch of a new general insurance office in Birmingham covering the Midlands and South West.
Elaborating on the reasons for the deal, Verlingue explained it would support its expansion in the Midlands and South West and “significantly boosts its employee benefits capabilities in the SME and mid-corporate market”.
It added the deal aligns with Verlingue Group’s 2024 strategic plan to create a major European, family-owned, independent insurance broker and has reinforced its ambition after the July acquisition of Italian broker Inser.
Latham told Health & Protection the deal has given Verlingue a “very exciting, growing business which is supported by a highly experienced team”.
“Our strategic plan was to expand our geographical presence and the Midlands and South West was a target area for us as we already have a significant number of clients in those areas,” Latham continued.
“The deal also compliments the opening of our new Birmingham office, enabling us to provide employee benefits expertise locally to our clients in that region,” he added.
“The expertise of the Brunsdon team will help us scale up and expand our current benefits and technology platform services to clients.
“We are currently exploring a number of additional opportunities but only those which complement our strategic plan objectives and which are culturally compatible with our existing business.”
Merritt added: “The whole of the Brunsdon Employee Benefits team are excited about joining forces with Verlingue as we truly believe that our improved scale and service capabilities will benefit our clients and colleagues immensely.”