Markerstudy Retail has acquired four firms.

Insurance Connections, Mobilers Insurance Services, The Caterers Club and Sandwell Commercial Insurance are the latest additions to the fold.

The acquisitions are widely seen as a way the company can strengthen its existing operation in the Midlands.

Combined gross written premium business from the newly acquired companies is in excess of £9 million.

Dennis Andrews, former managing director, will stay on as a consultant until his planned retirement in 2009.

Insurance Connections will complement Markerstudy's existing retail presence in the private car market.

It specialises in niche sectors such as drivers with adverse accident and conviction records and the 17 to 24-age bracket.

Kevin Spencer, chief executive of Markerstudy, told the Post magazine that he was "delighted" to have completed the acquisitions.

He said: "They reinforce our retail distribution business and propel us nearer to a top 100 broker."

Gibraltar-based Markerstudy Group, formed in 2001, is a group of insurance companies, which formed an alliance able to distribute and underwrite its own products.

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