Brokerage Lockton Companies Australia will open an Auckland office in September and is on a recruitment drive as it plans further expansion in other major cities across New Zealand's north and south islands.

A senior team of nine from Willis Towers Watson will kickstart Lockton’s Kiwi drive and CEO Paul Marsden told insuranceNEWS.com.au as many as 40 people based in New Zealand may be hired in the next three years.

Expansion into Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin is possible in the medium-term, depending on the need of clients, he says.

“We will have a number of New Zealand clients operating through that region and part of our investment into New Zealand includes a team of people who run Pacific business,” Mr Marsden said today.

“We are looking to increase the presence there over the next 12 to 18 months. We intend to invest quite heavily in talent and in industries and segmentations where we think we can make a difference.”

Lockton is recruiting several industry-leading broking teams to spearhead the rollout and ensure the New Zealand and Pacific business is underpinned with top local insurance broking professionals. An update will be provided in September.

Mr Marsden says Lockton does not intend to be an “SME type of broker”.

“We want to be a corporate broker so we will be focusing around those industries that fit in that landscape and where we have the capabilities and expertise here or in New Zealand to together build that out.”

Expansion into New Zealand was an “obvious evolution” of the business, Lockton says, and supports its growth in Australia and the needs of clients expanding their own businesses into New Zealand as well as “closely aligned” Pacific region locations such as Fiji and the Soloman Islands.

The new Lockton Companies NZ Limited Partnership “represents a significant investment and further expansion of our global reach and capabilities,” Mr Marsden said, and will provide the full strength of Lockton’s risk solution capabilities to clients in the region.

The news comes as Lockton Companies Australia, which also operates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, opens its first Tasmanian office in Hobart, headed by State Director Tim Johns, who begins August 30 and departs the role of State Sales Manager Australia at Gallagher.

That office follows the onboarding of a large client and may lead to further recruitment in that state too.

“We like to represent clients locally,” Mr Marsden said. “That was the main reason for that but we do see Tasmania as an area where we think our model could differentiate ourselves from our peers and therefore we think we will make an investment there and build that out.”

US parent Lockton, which was founded in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri, says it is the largest privately held, independent insurance broker in the world. Its 8000-plus professionals provide more than 60,000 clients with risk management, insurance and employee benefit services.