Brokers Acordia, Heath Lambert Form Alliance

U.S. broker Acordia, which was recently purchased by the Wells Fargo Bank, and U.K. broker Heath Lambert announced plans to form an alliance aimed at offering their respective clients enhanced global services. They plan to set up a Channel Islands holding company to administer the joint venture.

Acordia gains access to markets in 54 countries where Heath Lambert operates, as well as the Lloyd’s market. In exchange the U.K. broker will acquire wider access to the U.S. market. Both companies indicated that their main aim was to increase their abilities to offer their clients global risk management capabilities through a cooperative agreement; they weren’t contemplating a full merger agreement.

Their combined operations would generate revenues in excess of $1 billion, considerably less than MarshMac or Aon, but still enough to put them among the top five global brokers.