Edinburgh insurance broker expands Scottish presence with acquisition

TL Dallas is a fourth-generation family firm, owned by its management and staff and it has been in business for more than 100 years.

It is one of the largest, and last remaining truly independent insurance broking firms in the UK, and has offices spanning the UK from Shetland to London. The company has a team of more than 165 and provides a full range of commercial and personal insurance services including corporate, small to medium enterprises (SME), trade credit, demolition, farming and agricultural, health and care, books and collectables and private client.

As part of the agreement, TL Dallas will acquire Marsh Commercial’s teams in Elgin, Inverness and Kirkwall, adding to its existing business in the Highlands and Islands.

Group Managing Director Polly Staveley.

Polly Staveley, Group Managing Director, TL Dallas, said: “The acquisition of Marsh Commercial’s business in Elgin, Inverness and Kirkwall represents a significant milestone for TL Dallas, as we continue with our strategy to serve local businesses with local teams, whatever their size. We see this as a major growth region for our business.”

Alistair Fraser, CEO, Commercial and Corporate, Marsh, added: “I am pleased that TL Dallas, with its strong presence in Scotland’s Highlands and Islands where it serves personal customers and SMEs, will be the new custodian of our offices there.

"As the UK’s leading risk and insurance specialist serving SME clients in over 40 offices, Marsh Commercial will continue to serve SME clients in Scotland through its offices in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oban, and Perth.”

TL Dallas first expanded into Scotland in 1993 when it opened an office in Shetland, drawing on its experience in the shipping and textile industries. In 2000, the company opened a second office in Falkirk, before expanding into both Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2011.

Edinburgh is also the city where its founder, Thomas Lessels Dallas OBE (great-grandfather of managing director, Polly Staveley) started his business career in commercial shipping insurance, before founding TL Dallas in Bradford in 1919.

Today the fourth-generation family firm is owned by its management and team. Group managing director, Polly Staveley, and group director, Mackenzie Dallas, are both great grandchildren of the company’s founder, Thomas Lessels Dallas OBE.