CHIPPING Norton insurance broking business CETA Insurance, which specialises in caravans and motor boats, has been acquired by its non-executive directors and bosses in a management buyout.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, was 12 months in the making and is backed by private equity company Kester Capital.

Existing shareholders David Quick, Adrian Waters and Sandie Schofield are retiring from the business.

The new management team is Andrew Blowers as chairman, John Bibby as chief executive.

James Thomson becomes chief operating officer and Andy Elston chief financial officer.

Paul Yates carries on as a non-executive director, while James O’Hara and Luke Sims-Wilson stay in their senior management roles.

The firm is known in the industry for its use of technology.

Mr Bibby said: “We really liked what the guys had done here over the past 25 years.

“They had built a very smart tech business and this was the key reason for buying the business.

“The IT platform has been built in-house, so it’s agile and can quickly respond to new products or changes in compliance or regulation.”

He added: “The leisure market in general is growing and people want to buy insurance for their caravan or boat from someone who knows a bit about that sector.”

CETA, which was set up in 1993, employs more than 120 staff in Chipping Norton.

It has more than 1,500 independent financial advisors and mortgage broker members around the country.