The Ardonagh Group has unveiled plans to rebrand Geo Underwriting as Orvia UK, which is the managing general agent platform it launched at the beginning of the year. The transition will take place next year under the leadership of chief executive officer, Mark McIlquham who has joined from Acrisure, where he led the firm’s entry into the UK market.

McIlquham takes over the UK role from Conor Geraghty who becomes CEO Orvia Europe and Specialty.

The Orvia brand will also be rolled out across international markets. Ardonagh’s Envest Agencies, which comprises 14 MGAs, will become Orvia Australia and New Zealand. Dubai-based Antarah, which is an authorised Lloyd’s coverholder, will become Orvia Middle East and Africa.

David Ross, group chief executive of Ardonagh, said: “When we launched Ardonagh in 2017, our early investment into data, AI and placement capability was all done to enable us to one day bring our whole distribution portfolio into a single point of view and to give our group the edge it needs to compete in today’s market.”

McIlquham added: “Knowing the team well and having watched the business grow and mature over the last 10 years, joining Ardonagh as it launches the next chapter of Orvia seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

“With over 95 acquisitions completed last year and transformational talent joining every week across the group, there are many untapped opportunities to bring new and existing MGA propositions to our chosen markets.”