Clear Group has acquired London wholesale broker Commercial Risks (UK) and its managing general agent (MGA), Troon Underwriting, its latest move to build out a specialist wholesale arm in the London market.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Commercial Risks was founded in 2002 and is led by managing director James Osman. It places complex and hard-to-place risks into Lloyd's and the surrounding company market, working mainly for UK retail brokers who need access to London capacity for business the mainstream composite insurers won't take.
The firm employs seven people. Its specialisms include commercial combined, contractors' risks, casualty, professional risks and property owners' business, along with education, care, and sports, leisure and entertainment risks. It is also an approved Lloyd's coverholder and runs Troon Underwriting under a number of delegated underwriting authorities. A smaller retail broking book comes with the deal.
The deal is Clear's third London wholesale acquisition in under two years, and its second in six weeks.
The group first entered Lloyd's wholesale in October 2024, when it bought marine and property specialist Lilley Plummer Risks, its largest acquisition to date, adding around £150 million in gross written premium (GWP). In August, it acquired Lloyd's wholesale broker Newman Pearce & Partners, which extended the group's reach into Canada and Australia. On the same day, it agreed to buy Surrey-based broker C.R. Toogood & Co.
Clear is backed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives and also runs UK retail, European, Irish, MGA and network businesses.
Where the earlier wholesale deals brought marine, property and international reach, Commercial Risks adds a different skill set: UK liability and package business, much of it for niche trades and sectors. That puts it closer to Clear's retail broker network, which is likely to be a key source of business.
"Commercial Risks is an excellent fit for Clear and represents another important step in our strategy of building specialist capability across the Group," said Mike Edgeley (pictured), group chief executive of Clear.
Edgeley said wholesale was an important growth area for the group, and that the deal would give Clear's wider broker network access to more expertise and capacity for complex risks.
Osman said the business had always been built on specialist London market expertise and on finding solutions for risks that are hard to place conventionally.
"Joining Clear gives us the opportunity to build on that foundation while benefiting from the scale, infrastructure and resources of a larger independent group," said Osman.
For the regional brokers who use Commercial Risks to access London capacity, the immediate question is continuity. Clear said the business will keep its London market focus and existing broker and insurer relationships. Brokers placing liability and package risks through the firm should see the same faces, at least in the near term.
The longer-term picture is more complicated. As consolidators buy up small independent wholesalers, retail brokers may find more of their London market access running through groups that also own competing retail businesses. Clear's own retail and network arms sit alongside its wholesale operations. That raises questions about data, client ownership and conflict management that brokers will want answered.
The coverholder status and delegated authorities are also significant. Small wholesalers with pen and binder arrangements give acquirers an underwriting margin as well as broking commission, which helps explain why they remain attractive targets.
For Clear, Troon gives its MGA business another specialist line. For Lloyd's, the deal is a reminder that consolidation in the London market is reaching even the smallest specialist teams.
