Hot on the heels of its acquisition of a £40m GWP portfolio from Lockton and £10m GWP wholesaler Berkeley Alexander, CCV has followed up with another major deal which catapults the company into the premier league of independent UK broking groups, breaking the £200m GWP mark.

CCV’s 27th acquisition in a little over eighteen months sees Wales’ largest broker, Protectagroup, join what is rapidly becoming the UK’s fastest growing broking group. Based in South Wales, the company boasts a GWP of over £33m and has a number of areas of specialism. In addition to a sizeable personal lines account distributed through thirteen branches, the company has added a direct telesales arm, a wholesale division and a strong commercial insurance hub based in central Cardiff.

CCV CEO Tim Johnson is thrilled with the company’s latest deal: “Protectagroup is widely recognised as Wales’ largest independently owned insurance broker, and under Paul Ragan’s leadership has successfully diversified and grown into the major insurance force in the Principality. With two further local acquisitions planned in the coming months, I am confident that the existing management team can take Protectagroup to north of £50m GWP by the summer. As well as helping CCV break the £200m mark, this establishes us as the pre-eminent broking force in Wales”.

Paul Ragan, Chief Executive of ProtectaGroup sees a number of benefits for his organisation: “The CCV ethos of developing the existing brand name is great news for both our customers and staff and being part of a £200m GWP group moves us to another level. The huge benefits of access to enhanced products and markets will accelerate the growth of the business and improve our client offering. We felt the time was right to secure the future of our staff and take advantage of CCV’s access to funding – the prospect of further acquisitions in the immediate future has created a real buzz amongst both management and staff.”

CCV’s Executive Chairman, Peter Cullum is delighted with CCV’s progress: “The team have built a healthy pipeline, so I am pleased but not surprised with our excellent start to 2008. Protectagroup is a sizeable business with an excellent track record and really puts us on the map, not only in Wales but across the UK. With a number of additional acquisitions scheduled over the next few weeks, CCV’s unique flexibility backed by blue chip funding makes it a natural choice for independently minded entrepreneurs who wish to develop their business.”