Envest Group is bringing together three of its broking businesses to create an SME and corporate risk and advisory services specialist.

Fitzpatrick & Co Insurance Brokers, Arete Risk & Insurance Solutions, and Amicus Insurance Services will collectively account for more than $260 million in gross written premium (GWP) and employ more than 130 staff.

Travis Kemp, who has been a consultant to Fitzpatrick & Co, will head the combined business, which will include the leadership teams of the three brokerages. The merger is expected to be completed by the end of the financial year.

“The goal is to operate all three businesses under one structure, with Fitzpatrick's current GM Daniel Holmes leading the general insurance broking team and Stuart Munro leading the corporate and risk solutions team,” Mr Kemp said today. 

Fitzpatrick & Co, established more than 30 years ago by Barry Fitzpatrick, was one of the founding members of the Aviso and Envest groups, which are part of global insurance distribution company Ardonagh. 

“There are lots of gains to be made by working collaboratively, especially in the current regulatory market,” Mr Fitzpatrick said. 

“We need size, strength and scale to deliver the best outcomes for our clients and staff.” 

Arete was established last year under the leadership of Phil Sholl, formerly Wymark Insurance Brokers CEO, and Chairman John Clayton, a former Marsh Pacific region CEO. 

“We’ve had a clear aspiration with Arete to deliver a nimble corporate broking service to the market that has access to the full suite of products at a competitive price point,” Mr Clayton said. “Our strategy is to offer risk consulting and insurance broking services to corporate clients in a seamless manner.” 

The business has grown rapidly and was forecast to record about $140 million in GWP and employ 45 staff this year. 

Amicus, which has operated for more than 20 years, is a Resilium Insurance Broking authorised representative and will add a Queensland base for the operations. Mr Munro, former Marsh & McLennan national leader commercial, has been consulting with Amicus since March last year and was appointed CEO in December.