Brown & Brown (Europe) has acquired Alan R MacKay & Company Limited, trading as MacKay Corporate Insurance Brokers - the firm's first retail acquisition in Scotland. It is a direct response to the geographical gaps Carolyn Callan, chief executive officer of Brown & Brown Retail, explicitly flagged as targets for expansion in January 2025.
MacKay Corporate operates from offices in Glasgow, Ayr, and Aberdeen, providing commercial insurance across construction, property, professional services, charities, early years, and oil and gas, alongside personal lines including high-net-worth cover. The Aberdeen office adds a particularly strategic dimension: the city is the UK's oil and gas capital, and MacKay Corporate's two decades of experience in that sector gives Brown & Brown an immediate specialist foothold in one of Scotland's most commercially significant insurance markets. The business was founded in 1989 by Alan MacKay, with his son David joining in 1996 and succeeding him as Managing Director in 2011. David MacKay continues in that role, alongside fellow directors Iain Henry and Karen Fitzgerald, all of whom remain with the business. MacKay Corporate received Chartered Status in 2010. Consideration is undisclosed and the deal has received regulatory approval.
The business becomes Brown & Brown's Retail Hub for Scotland, reporting to Neil Thornton, divisional managing director, North.
The MacKay Corporate acquisition is not opportunistic. It is the execution of a stated geographical strategy.
In January 2025, Callan said Brown & Brown Europe had "geographical areas that we've got little coverage in" and that these were ideal expansion targets. Scotland - a significant commercial and industrial economy with a substantial oil and gas sector, a strong financial services industry, and a meaningful HNW market - was the most visible gap in a UK retail network that had grown substantially through England but had no Scottish presence.
The One Retail strategy, formally launched in April 2024, is the framework driving the consolidation. Under it, approximately 100 acquired regional brokers are progressively replacing their independent brand names with the Brown & Brown moniker. MacKay Corporate's transition to a Brown & Brown Retail Hub - rather than continued operation under its own name - signals that it is being positioned as a platform for further Scottish acquisitions rather than a standalone addition.
Callan said the Scotland milestone was a stepping stone rather than a destination.
"Our first acquisition in Scotland is an exciting milestone for us and creates an opportunity to expand our presence significantly across the country in the future," she said. "I am looking forward to working in partnership with David, Iain, Karen and the team on their exciting growth strategy."
David MacKay framed the deal as a continuation rather than a break.
"Joining Brown & Brown is an exciting new chapter for our business, our colleagues and our customers," he said. "Iain, Karen and I look forward to continuing to grow MacKay Corporate whilst retaining the local connectivity, knowledge and specialisation that our customers value."
MacKay Corporate sits within a sustained and accelerating UK and European acquisition programme built on a clear foundation. Brown & Brown acquired Global Risk Partners in July 2022, transforming the group into one of the UK's largest insurance intermediaries with close to half a million personal and commercial customers. That deal established the European retail platform on which subsequent transactions have been built.
The pace since has been consistent. Key milestones include the dual acquisition of Garratts Insurance Brokers - established in 1877 - and BNF Insurance Services in May 2024; Drewberry in December 2024, adding health and employee benefits capability; and Qunites in November 2024, marking the group's first move into continental Europe via the Netherlands. On the underwriting side, the October 2025 acquisition of Pardus Underwriting demonstrated the MGA arm's appetite for specialist commercial lines. Globally, the group completed its largest-ever transaction in August 2025: the $9.825 billion acquisition of Accession Risk Management Group - parent of Risk Strategies and One80 Intermediaries - adding more than 5,000 professionals and approximately $1.7 billion in pro forma revenues, according to Brown & Brown's own SEC filing.
Callan confirmed in January 2025 that the strategy would focus on "a smaller number of larger deals" while maintaining a "really healthy pipeline" - and that the underwriting arm was "very much looking at opportunities." The MacKay Corporate deal, as a first-in-market Scottish retail acquisition, fits the pattern: deliberate, geographically targeted, and designed as a platform for further consolidation rather than an isolated transaction.
For Scottish brokers assessing their own options, MacKay Corporate's transition illustrates what the Brown & Brown model looks like in practice: management retained, locations preserved, specialist expertise maintained, and the brand progressively aligned to the wider group. Whether that model is attractive as an exit or a competitive threat depends on the position each firm occupies - but the arrival of a well-capitalised national platform in Scotland changes the competitive landscape for everyone operating in it.
