Kensington Vanguard Acquires GRS Title Services

Company Continues Acquisition-Driven National Expansion

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Kensington Vanguard National Land Services

Jan 06, 2020, 15:40 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kensington Vanguard National Land Services ("KV"), one of the largest full-service national title insurance and settlement agencies in the United States, today announced that the Company has acquired GRS Title Services, LLC ("GRS Title"), a national commercial title insurance agency.

Headquartered in Richmond, VA, GRS Title maintains additional offices in Scottsdale, Dallas and Kansas City. The transaction will both augment KV's already strong presences in Dallas and the greater Washington DC Metro area as well as expand the Company into Arizona and Missouri. GRS Title was a wholly owned subsidiary of international commercial real estate services firm GRS Group.

Brian Cooper, Co-CEO of Kensington Vanguard said, "There are few pure play national commercial title agencies in the marketplace so adding this operation to our organization is an exciting step. GRS Title's leadership team, including Michelle Rogers, Brian Carr and Allen Brown, is comprised of top-quality commercial title insurance veterans with deep experience servicing clientele on both the agency and underwriter levels. Additionally, it is complimentary from a geographic perspective as we continue to bolster existing markets and selectively enter new ones."

Chuck Victor, CEO of GRS Group, added, "We're pleased to have completed the sale of our title operations to KV. We view the company as the leader in the commercial title agency space and the platform on which the professionals at GRS Title can continue to thrive."

After a strategic investment by $30Bn private equity firm Stone Point Capital (www.stonepoint.com) in 2016, Kensington Vanguard has continued to be a consolidator driven by industry leadership and financial strength.

Kensington Vanguard National Land Services operates three divisions:

Commercial Division is a leader in handling the largest and most complex commercial real estate transactions in the marketplace, servicing a prominent and diversified clientele consisting of leading property owners, developers, REITs, private equity groups, law firms, private investors and institutional lenders.
Residential Division provides title insurance and settlement services on residential purchases and refinances referred by realtors, attorneys and both regional and national mortgage originators. Approved as a preferred vendor for leading financial institutions, this division's technology and operating model drive the highest quality execution and service.
1031 Exchange Services Division employs a team of seasoned experts, attorneys and Certified Exchange Specialists providing clients and their advisors with IRC §1031 qualified intermediary services enabling them to defer capital gains tax they would otherwise realize upon the sale of investment properties.

About Kensington Vanguard National Land Services
Kensington Vanguard National Land Services, headquartered in New York City with offices in Arizona, Florida, New Jersey, Missouri, Virginia and Texas, is one of the largest independent full‐service national title insurance and settlement agencies in the United States. Founded in 2002, Kensington Vanguard provides commercial and residential title insurance, settlement, escrow and 1031 exchange services. Operating in all 50 states, the Company serves as agent to the nation's leading title insurance underwriters. Kensington Vanguard's client base is a highly diversified mix of law firms, investors, developers, operators, opportunity funds, commercial lenders, family offices, realtors and regional and national residential lenders. For more information, visit www.kvnational.com

About GRS Group
On the leading edge of innovation in commercial real estate transactions, Global Realty Services Group provides its clients with unsurpassed expertise in the areas of Transaction Services and Sustainability Solutions. With offices across the United States, Europe, and affiliates around the globe, GRS Group provides local market knowledge with a global perspective for institutional real estate investors, occupiers and lenders worldwide. The GRS Group team has evaluated and advised on over $1 trillion in CRE transactions. For more information, visit www.grs-global.com

Media Contact: Joseph Losos, [email protected]

SOURCE Kensington Vanguard National Land Services