Derby insurance broker sold to national rival

Derby-based insurance broker Bell & Co has been sold tp the Aston Scott Group for an undiclosed sum.

The Bell & Co brand will be retained, the board of directors will remain to run the company and Derby will become a Midlands hub for Aston Scott.

Richard Salt, managing director at Bell & Co, said: “Derby has, in my view, needed a broker of this scale for some time. It is what we have been aspiring to and we are proud to achieve this through everyone’s hard work and now Aston Scott’s support.

“We have been talking to them and building foundations over the course of the past year and we look forward to becoming part of a larger independent broking group. Following our move to great new offices at the County Cricket Ground, this is a tremendous time for Bell & Co”.

Peter Blanc, group CEO at Aston Scott, added: “We look forward to supporting Bell & Co with their expansion plans in the region and I look forward to meeting all of the team over the next few weeks”.

Legal work was delivered by Flint Bishop led by Martyn Brierley, with accountancy and tax advice from Dains led by Jenny Moore.

Aston Scott has another office in the county, in Chesterfield, which was acquired in 2015.