Yorkshire insurance broker grows Scottish presence with acquisition | TheBusinessDesk.com

Bradford-headquartered independent insurance broking and risk management company, TL Dallas, has reached an agreement to acquire Marsh Commercial’s business in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

TL Dallas is a fourth-generation family firm, owned by its management and staff and has been in business for more than 100 years.

The company has a team of over 165 staff and provides a full range of commercial and personal insurance services including corporate, small to medium enterprises, trade credit, demolition, farming and agricultural, health and care, books and collectables and private client.

As part of the agreement, TL Dallas will acquire Marsh Commercial’s teams in Elgin, Inverness and Kirkwall, adding to its existing business in the Highlands and Islands.

Polly Staveley, group managing director, TL Dallas, said: “The acquisition of Marsh Commercial’s business in Elgin, Inverness and Kirkwall represents a significant milestone for us, as we continue with our strategy to serve local businesses with local teams, whatever their size.

“We see this as a major growth region for our business.”

Alistair Fraser, CEO, Commercial and Corporate, Marsh, added: “I am pleased that TL Dallas, with its strong presence in Scotland’s Highlands and Islands where it serves personal customers and SMEs, will be the new custodian of our offices there.

“As the UK’s leading risk and insurance specialist serving SME clients in over 40 offices, Marsh Commercial will continue to serve SME clients in Scotland through its offices in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oban, and Perth.”

Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in August 2024, have not been disclosed.

TL Dallas first advanced into Scotland in 1993 when it opened an office in Shetland, drawing on its experience in the shipping and textile industries.

In 2000, the company opened a second office in Falkirk, before expanding into both Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2011.

Edinburgh is also the city where its founder, Thomas Lessels Dallas – great-grandfather of managing director, Polly Staveley – started his business career in commercial shipping insurance, before founding TL Dallas in Bradford in 1919.