The H.W.
Kaufman Financial Group, parent company to Burns & Wilcox, is expanding its footprint in the UK with the acquisition of London-based Oval International, a Lloyd’s of London broker specializing in the marine and energy markets.
Under terms of the deal, Oval International will revert to its original Lochain Patrick name and all executive leadership and many of the original staff will retain their roles, bringing roughly 30 new employees to Kaufman.
Chris Zoidis, corporate senior vice president with the Kaufman Financial Group, said the acquisition was part of a larger company strategy to build a presence in London.
“London is really the center of the insurance universe,” Zoidis told Insurance Business America. “As Kaufman looks to expand outside of North America, London is a logical spot and building a Lloyd’s platform allows us to build a presence around the world without setting up offices in each individual country.”
Also attractive to the company was Lochain Patrick’s product expertise in the expanding energy and marine markets.
Of the name change, Zoidis said:
“The Lochain Patrick name is very well known in the energy and marine insurance world. Even when using the Oval name, in many cases it was known as the former Lochain Patrick group. We felt that given the reputation and brand within the marine and energy world, it made sense to bring it back.”
Zoidis also hinted at the possibility of future acquisitions.
“Our business is very strong right now,” he said. “We’re growing pretty much every year. We don’t need to make more acquisitions to grow, but where we see opportunities to expand within our geographic reach, we’re certainly looking for opportunities.”
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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