GRP-owned Marshall Wooldridge buys Bush & Associates

Commercial and personal lines broker Bush is based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

It was founded as a partnership in 2000 before being incorporated as Insurefirst Limited trading as Bush & Associates in 2015.

The deal has received regulatory approval and the price has not been undisclosed.

The company is run by Wayne Stevenson, Tish Stevenson and Tim Bush. The management team and all employees will stay with the business under new ownership.

Wayne Stevenson commented: “Marshall Wooldridge has a strong tradition of entrepreneurship and encouraging owner-managers to go for growth. We feel that Bush and its team are in safe hands under the GRP umbrella and we look forward to being able to offer our clients a broader range of products and services.”

This is Leeds-based Marshall Wooldridge’s sixth acquisition since it became part of GRP in 2016.

Geoff Kirk, MD of Marshall Wooldridge, said: “Wayne and his team run a high-class regional brokerage and I’m really pleased they’ve chosen to join us for the next stage of their development. The business is a great fit with our portfolio in Yorkshire and I am confident that Bush will be in prime position to expand its footprint with our help and support.”

Kirk joined GRP’s Marshall Wooldridge as MD in 2018, he was formally head of office for Marsh Milton Keynes and Cambridge.

In January, Marshall Wooldridge purchased Rotherham-based broker Goldthorpe.

Prior to this in March 2021, Marshall bought Lawrence Fraser Brokers, in its fourth deal. It has also previously acquired Rotherham Insurance Brokers, agricultural specialist Messrs R F Broadley and ECS Insurance Brokers.

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