Aston Lark snaps up Scottish broker

Aston Lark has added Bruce Stevenson, which has branches in Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Scottish Borders and Turriff, to its portfolio and extended its reach into the Scottish market.

According to Aston Lark, Bruce Stevenson, which has been established for 40 years, is the largest independent insurance broker in Scotland, providing specialist products and services to both commercial and private clients across the UK, with specialisms including renewable energy, social housing, and property insurance.

Alliance
It has CII Chartered Status and is also a founder member of UNA Alliance, a national alliance of independent brokers.

Aston Lark detailed that the Bruce Stevenson brand will be maintained for the foreseeable future.

Edward Bruce, CEO, will lead Aston Lark’s Scottish operations, including their existing team in Glasgow, and Aston Lark will look to further develop its presence in Scotland with future acquisitions and natural expansion.

Reputation
Peter Blanc, Aston Lark Group CEO, said: “When we first started on the Aston Lark journey, Stuart Rootham and I agreed that Bruce Stevenson would be the perfect partner for us in Scotland. Edward and his team have a fantastic reputation and we couldn’t be more proud that they’ve chosen Aston Lark as their home.

“I’m particularly delighted that Edward and his senior management team have chosen to invest part of their sales proceeds into Aston Lark as a sign of their long-term commitment to the Group.”

This latest deal for Goldman Sachs-backed Aston Lark is its fourth this year. Last week it purchased Kent-based building expert Sennocke and earlier this year it acquired two healthcare brokers. In January it also swooped for super-yacht broker CRS Yachts.

Values
Bruce added: “I’ve known Stuart and Peter for many years and over that time developed a close personal relationship and an understanding of shared business values and aspirations. After 40 very successful and happy years, joining the Aston Lark team will allow Bruce Stevenson to expand at an even faster rate.

“There’s lots of synergy in the cultures of Bruce Stevenson and Aston Lark, and specifically in the areas of client focus, staff welfare, and training & development - evidenced by the Chartered status and long-term insurer relationships of both. I look forward to the Bruce Stevenson team continuing to deliver the same high quality service proposition to our clients.”

In early 2020 Stevenson told Insurance Age that despite a lot of consolidator interest in the business he was keen to remain independent. In the 2020 Top 100 Bruce Stevenson was in the £30m to £39.99m banding.

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