AnaCap’s German portfolio company MRH Trowe makes three growth acquisitions

MRH Trowe (MRHT or “the Group”), an owner managed commercial lines insurance broker in Germany and a portfolio company of AnaCap Financial Partners (AnaCap), has made three bolt-on acquisitions.

The acquisitions of WIASS Wirtschafts-Assekuranz-Makler Chemnitz (WIASS Chemnitz), fivers Gruppe (fivers) and Kulmbacher Versicherungsmakler (KVM) come soon after AnaCap’s investment in MRHT and are part of a strategic buy-and-build programme. MRHT is one of the ten largest German industrial brokers. In addition to MRH Trowe Insurance Brokers, several specialist service providers for various insurance segments operate under the umbrella of Mesterheide Rockel Hirz Trowe.

MRHT offers expertise in most insurance lines for both industrial and commercial customers as well as affluent private customers. AnaCap invested in MRHT as strategic growth partner in late 2020, identifying the company as a platform to achieve scale in the large and consolidating German market.

MRHT is seeking growth through targeted M&A and a “refined strategy of operational and synergetic integration”. In line with this strategic roadmap, owners of the three recently acquired businesses remain fully involved and responsible for their operational activities.

These bolt-ons will strengthen the Group’s geographical footing while broadening its geographical reach and depth of product and customer lines. This follows an already strong 2020 MRHT performance with total revenue growth of 20 percent.

WIASS Chemnitz is an insurance and specialist broker, established in 1992 and based in Chemnitz. Its focus on serving fleet operators, car dealerships and other clients involved in the logistics sector is expected to complement and strengthen the Group’s expertise in these particular areas.

fivers, an insurance broker based in Karlsruhe, has developed a core expertise in serving clients involved in IT, an important potential growth area for the Group.

KVM is a regional commercial insurance broker founded in 1991 and based in Kulmbach.

MRHT now operates with over €65 million run-rate turnover, delivering a strong double-digital organic annual growth in 2020. MRHT said it will continue to pursue its strategic roadmap with a strong M&A pipeline for the coming months.

In addition to strong inorganic growth activity, MRHT has also expanded internationally with the launch of London Re, a new European Lloyd’s broker set up as a joint venture with Seventeen Group. The start-up will offer independent broking solutions for EU clients and brokers wishing access to London for a wide range of products. Ralph Rockel, co-founder of MRHT, said: “These acquisitions are fully in line with our wider business growth strategy as we bid to further expand our specialty broking expertise and geographical presence across Germany and to build MRHT as a leading, independent challenger broker. These mergers will enable us to tap into additional specialized practices for niche risk management and, with a significantly larger team, we are also strengthening our service offering overall and creating better efficiencies.”

Tassilo Arnhold, partner at AnaCap, added: “We are delighted by this rate of progress and AnaCap will continue to support MRHT’s management team with the execution of their inorganic growth strategy, including post-merger integration processes. We are particularly pleased to see an increased geographical presence across the DACH region, an improved service offering for specialist lines and further investment into technology and new talent.” The build-up of MRHT follows the success of another German investment, AnaCap’s growth partnership with the management founders of heidelpay, a payments company which was successfully sold to KKR last year.

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