PIERCE Chartered Accountants has acted on the sale of a Manchester-based insurance broker in a deal worth up to £1.2m in cash and shares.

The Blackburn-based firm advised long-standing client Swinburne James on its sale to the CBG Group, which has now completed its 10th acquisition.

Swinburne James, which is based in Manchester with offices in Liverpool and Burnley, has clients across the North West and brings in more than £10 million in premiums a year.

The acquisition by AIM-listed CBG Group, which is also based in Manchester, propels the business into the top 30 independent brokers in the UK.

Stephen Darcy, managing director and 100 per cent shareholder of Swinburne James, has joined the CBG Group’s main board as part of the deal.

He said: “The acquisition by the CBG Group was an opportunity to continue our ethos of growing a profitable business, creating opportunities for our staff and improving resources for our clients.

“Pierce has always been a valuable strategic adviser to Swinburne James over the last 12 years. John Green played a major role in the sale process, from initially sourcing a potential buyer for the business, structuring the deal and negotiating the price through to the completion.”

Swinburne James’ Manchester office will be relocated and integrated into the Manchester headquarters of the CBG Group, which has now increased its staff numbers to 74.

Martin Lewis, CBG Group’s managing director, said: “This was a significant acquisition for us, which is part of our ongoing expansion programme to consolidate our position across the region. There were clear synergies between the businesses, which made it an obvious move for us and will also help us obtain better value for our shareholders and clients.

“Pierce helped launch CBG five years ago and they obviously have a great deal of knowledge of both businesses and have good relationships with the management teams, which greatly assisted in pushing the deal through.”

Pierce has played a significant part in the development of both Swinburne James and the CBG Group over the years. Graham Boyes, senior partner and chairman at Pierce, helped Stephen Darcy set up a business in 1994 which evolved into Swinburne James. John Green, head of corporate finance and director at Pierce, helped launch the CBG Group in January 2001.

John added: “This was an extremely rewarding deal for me to be involved in personally. I had very much enjoyed working with Martin Lewis in the early days of CBG and had watched with interest their substantial progress in achieving an AIM listing and continuing expansion.

“When Stephen Darcy consulted me in connection with the strategy for his own business it was readily apparent that the two businesses would be a great fit. I wish Stephen and the CBG Group every success in moving forward with the enlarged business.”