Newsroom

Amwins Purchases Wholesale Business from Franklin Street

Nov 30, 2022

Partnership further solidifies brokerage capabilities in commercial real estate.

Amwins, a global distributor of specialty insurance products and services, today announced the purchase of Arena Special Risks’ wholesale business from commercial real estate and retail insurance firm Franklin Street. 

“This partnership highlights the range of abilities and products offered by our Amwins Real Estate Practice. Our ability to handle challenging catastrophic exposed accounts is a major driver of the partnership along with our strategic market relationships that continue to bring the best available solutions to our retailers and their insureds," said Jeff McNatt, president, Amwins Brokerage.

“The sale of Arena to Amwins will allow Franklin Street Insurance Services to focus on our core business as a retail insurance broker to the Real Estate sector, while at the same time providing even more market strength and resources for our associates when placing business through the wholesale market,” said Rob Allen, president, Franklin Street Insurance. 

Amwins and Franklin Street have a long-standing relationship and both recognize the exciting growth opportunity that exists for this wholesale property business on a go forward basis.  

“This is a win-win-win for all parties. The products and high-level of service that Amwins provides will only enhance the resources of this collaborative team,” said Andrew Kiernan, president, Arena Special Risks, LLC. “We’d like to thank everyone that was in the arena together, making this a successful venture: all our valuable agents, our underwriters in Houston and beyond, the Arena team who performed in a hard market, and our supportive Franklin Street colleagues.” 

With the largest specialty insurance distribution platform in the industry, Amwins Brokerage serves retailers by constantly collaborating to share knowledge and solutions across teams and divisions.

About Amwins

Amwins is the largest independent wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products in the U.S., dedicated to serving retail insurance agents by providing property and casualty products, specialty group benefit products, and administrative services. Based in Charlotte, NC, the company operates through more than 155 offices globally and handles premium placements in excess of $29 billion annually.

About Franklin Street:

Founded in 2006 during one of the toughest real estate climates, Franklin Street focused on delivering value-added solutions to meet the evolving needs of clients. Through a collaborative philosophy of leveraging the resources, expertise and experience of each of its lines of business, Franklin Street has grown to include seven business divisions – Investment Sales, Tenant and Landlord Representation, Capital Advisory, Insurance, Property Management and Project Management. With $7 billion in transaction value across all major product types, Franklin Street offers unmatched value and optimal solutions for clients throughout the full life cycle of a real estate asset. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida., the firm has offices in a growing number of the country’s top metros and works with owners and occupiers of commercial real estate nationwide. Learn more about Franklin Street at FranklinSt.com.