Melbourne-based Midland Insurance Brokers has acquired suburban brokerage James Wiltshire in a move that Midland MD Terry Lane says positions the company to capitalise on rapid growth in the city’s southeast.

The deal takes effect from July 1 next year, with the four directors of Cheltenham-based James Wiltshire moving to Midland’s outer bayside office at Mt Eliza and remaining with Midland for about a year.

Both Midland and James Wiltshire are members of the IBNA broking cluster group.

Mr Lane says consolidation is in full swing in the broking sector because of rising costs and a lack of succession planning in small firms.

“Costs are going up all the time and organic growth is a slow process,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “We’ve been talking to a number of brokers, and there are quite a few who haven’t got succession plans in place.”

Mr Lane declined to reveal how much Midland paid for James Wiltshire, but says the deal will increase group income by more than 25%.

He says the Mornington Peninsula area is experiencing rapid population and commercial growth, “and we want to be in on the ground floor”.

“It’s about size and scale,” he said.