Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced two acquisitions this week, Risk & Reward Group in London and Joseph James & Associates in Dublin, Ohio. Financial terms for the transactions were not released.

On Tuesday, the Itasca, Ill.-based insurance broker said it acquired Risk & Reward Group. Founded in 1996, Risk & Reward is an employee benefits consultant and insurance broker consisting of approximately 18 employees. It offers a broad range of employee benefits insurance and consulting services to both their United Kingdom and international clients. The firm specializes in benefit design and implementation, risk brokering and management, absence and claims management and human resource consulting for human capital financial management.

Risk & Reward principal and managing partner, Tim Johnson and his associates will continue to operate from their London location reporting to John Neumaier, executive vice president of Gallagher's employee benefit consulting and brokerage operation.

In a statement, J. Patrick Gallagher Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer noted that this was the firm's first employee benefits acquisition in the United Kingdom.

Yesterday, AJG said it acquired Joseph James & Associates.

Established in 1989, Joseph James, consisting of about 10 employees, offers a range of employee benefit consultation and brokerage services, including all lines of group benefits and short and long term disability services. They also specialize in plan design and development, alternative funding and risk analysis, health care utilization and trend analysis, as well as dedicated account management and claim resolution services.

Fritz Neuhart, Joseph James' principal, and his associates will continue to operate in Dublin under the direction of William Ziebell, North central regional executive vice president of Gallagher's employee benefit consulting and brokerage operations.