Advising Gallagher on Devitt acquisition

We advised Gallagher on its acquisition of Devitt, a retail insurance broker, specialising in motorhome and motorcycle insurance.  

As the UK's number one motorhome and top four motorcycle insurance broker it will become part of Gallagher’s UK retail operations. Gallagher is one of the world’s largest insurance brokers and risk management firms, employing 34,000 colleagues across 68 countries. Its UK retail business supports over 1.3 million clients and employs more than 3,000 people.  

This acquisition brings affinity partnerships with organisations including The Caravan and Motorhome Club and BMW Motorrad and further enhances Gallagher’s digital capabilities. 

Founded in 1936, Devitt has 130,000 customers and a team of 130 staff between its offices in Romford and Ipswich.

The acquisition of Devitt is our first deal for Gallagher.

Private equity partner Chris Cowley led on the deal. He said: "We are proud to have assisted Gallagher's excellent legal and M&A teams on this transaction.  

"We thank the Gallagher team for trusting us to deliver effectively, efficiently and commercially and look forward to seeing the Devitt business flourishing in its new home.  

"The deal further demonstrates our strength in the insurance sector and in financial services more broadly."

The team was led by private equity partner Chris Cowley, senior associate Charlotte Whalley, associate Alice Picton and trainee Erin Chu.

The team was further assisted by colleagues in tax (Liz Wilson and Joe Fallon), corporate services (Kerry Buckenham and Grant Wellcome), banking (Kate Bowden and Lerika Joubert), pensions (Mark Smith, Georgina Wardrop and Rachel Potts), employment (Paul Callaghan and Fiona Morgan), regulatory (Charlotte Hill and Arnav Gupta), data (Sian Skelton, Alex Walton, Mary Rendle, Calum Parfitt and Megan Lukins), real estate (Emma Oakley and Francesca Gibbs), private client (Nick Warr, Gabriela Hristova and Aleksandra Kucharska), IP (Mark Owen, Fabio Lo Iacono and Xuyang Zhu), competition (Paolo Palmigiano and Louisa Penny) and litigation (David de Ferrars and Michelle George).