On September 12, 2023, BMS Group, the independent specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, announced that it had acquired Ottawa-based insurance broker, Smith & Reid Insurance Brokers Ltd.

Smith & Reid provides expertise in specialized lines of business, including construction, real estate portfolios, oil and petrol distribution and auto dealerships. 

The acquisition provides BMS with the opportunity and platform to expand into specialty retail in Canada. BMS is well known for its Affinity, Captive Management and Capacity Distribution expertise in the country. 

Gowling WLG advised Smith & Reid with respect to this transaction with a team that included Colin Green, Daniel Scott, Jessica Ward and Ian Therrien (corporate/M&A), Darrell Daley (real estate) and John Peters and Amy Derickx (employment), assisted by students-at-law Jay Lu and Syed Ullah.