BMS Group, the independent specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, has entered into an agreement to acquire Brisbane-based specialty broker Bluebook Insurance Brokers. The deal is the sixth Australian acquisition by BMS in the past 12 months as the company looks to grow their operations in Australia. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Bluebook was founded in 2018 and offers tailored insurance broking, risk management and claims handling services. The company specialises in the mid-market corporate sector and advises on the full range of general insurance products and risk management solutions.
Bluebook is headed by well-known Queenslanders Peter Apolakiatis and Stephen Moore. Apolakiatis has more than 30 years’ experience in the insurance industry having worked with privately owned and ASX-listed companies supporting their insurance needs before founding Bluebook five years ago. Moore, regarded as one of Australia’s greatest rugby union players, joined the company in 2022 having previously worked at Queensland Treasury Corporation and Queensland Investment Corporation.
Both Apolakitais and Moore will remain with the business and will take on expanded regional leadership roles with BMS.
Andrew Godden, chief executive of BMS’ Australian business, said: “This transaction is in line with BMS’ global strategy to deepen our expertise in our chosen areas of specialisations and be a realistic alternative to the large broking houses. Bluebook was particularly attractive to us because it also shares very similar cultural values to BMS, and its senior management are passionate about supporting their staff and clients to achieve success.”
Explaining Bluebook’s reasons for deciding to partner with BMS, Moore explains: “BMS is a great fit for us. Not only do they bring existing scale and global representation, we also share complementary values, centred around our staff and clients. This was very important to us. We look forward to working together with the existing BMS team to continue to grow the business in Queensland and across the country”.
Bluebook’s founder Apolakiatis added: “This is an exciting new chapter in Bluebook’s history. Stephen and I have taken a long-term view of Bluebook’s future and we felt this partnership with BMS would provide even greater opportunities to achieve success moving forward. We would also like to acknowledge Stedfast Group for their backing over the past five years and for supporting us in building Bluebook”.
BMS will acquire Bluebook in full, with all staff and infrastructure transferring into BMS’ existing Australian business.