Ausure Insurance Brokers has bought specialist wholesale broking operation AFM Insurance Brokers for an undisclosed sum.

The deal will expand Newcastle-based Ausure’s reach from 90 offices to more than 150 across all states.

MD Troy Brown says Ausure was planning to expand into wholesale broking for some time when AFM came up for sale.

“It was fortunate to find and purchase a business that is a great complement to our own,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Brisbane-based AFM provides services to more than 65 businesses and has a turnover in excess of $50 million a year. It has been operating for 15 years, and CEO Scott McCarthy has been in the role for 14 years.

“The business has been very much specialised in the past and we may not have been able to take on some of the opportunities that I thought we should be able to,” Mr McCarthy said.

“But as part of Ausure we will now have the support and resources to create a value proposition for our clients that will really stand out in the market.”

Mr Brown says the difference between the two businesses will help grow the Ausure group.

“By leveraging the strengths of each business we believe, over time, we can offer our authorised representatives more services for better value,” he said.

“It will be ‘business as usual’ for both companies for now, with only back-office processes to be rationalised.