Crawford & Co.’s acquisition of London-based claims management firm GAB Robins Holdings U.K. Ltd. marks another step by the Atlanta-based claims management service provider to bolster its global specialty lines services.

In addition to providing a boost to revenue, Crawford’s $73.3 million acquisition of GAB Robins and its United Kingdom-based staff of about 600 that was announced last week significantly expands its U.K. presence, where Crawford already has about 1,000 employees.

“The world’s most dynamic insurance market is the U.K.,” Crawford CEO and President Jeffrey T. Bowman said. “So we see this transaction as a real opportunity to service our clients both in the U.K. and as springboard for improving all of our international operations.”

Indeed, a larger London footprint is vital to Crawford’s efforts to service claims globally, Mr. Bowman said.

Adam Klauber, Chicago-based analyst at investment banking and asset management firm William Blair & Co. L.L.C., said the deal makes sense. “They are effectively taking out a large competitor in the (claims) adjustment space, adding a lot of revenue and probably getting some good synergies from it,” he said.

Mr. Bowman said that in addition to acquiring a wide array of products and technical expertise, there is little overlap between the firms’ rosters of clients. “We have complementary client bases,” he said, citing the specialty aviation business of GAB Robins as an area that is primed for growth.

The acquisition came on the heels of Crawford’s announcement earlier in November that it has merged its Atlanta-based global technical services claims unit, which focuses on complex claims, with its specialty markets claims unit. The London-based specialty unit was launched in July 2013 to focus on the aviation, energy, marine, forensic accounting and mining markets for Lloyd’s of London and international adjusting firms.

Mr. Bowman said Crawford expects to run both businesses separately as they finalize plans for integration in 2015. GAB Robins CEO, Kieran Rigby, will be appointed head of global markets for Crawford, the company said. Current Crawford U.K. and Ireland CEO Greg Gladwell and GAB Robins Chief Operating Officer Mike Jones will jointly run Crawford’s enlarged U.K. business.

The combined business will benefit from Crawford’s previous investments in people as well as technology, Mr. Bowman said.

“As an organization, we’ve spent well over $100 million on technology just in the past three or four years to be better able to play in a global environment,” Mr. Bowman said. “So we think we can bring a lot of technology advances to the GAB organization.”

Likewise, Mr. Rigby said the two firms would mesh well.

“By joining with Crawford, we combine our strengths to create a compelling loss adjusting and claims management option for clients across the globe,” Mr. Rigby said in a statement.