Charlton Manley INC., an insurance agency based in Lawrence with roots dating to 1861, has been sold to Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co., a national insurance brokerage. From left are Duane Becker, chief operating officer of Charlton Manley, and Gary Sollars, president and chief executive.

Charlton Manley Inc., a Lawrence-based independent insurance agency that has grown through more than two dozen mergers and acquisitions since 1861, itself is being sold to a national insurance brokerage.

The agency announced Wednesday that it would be sold July 1 to Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co., of Glen Allen, Va.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the pact allows for all 70 Charlton Manley employees to remain with the company, working out of the same three offices: in Lawrence, Overland Park and Topeka. About 45 are based in the company headquarters at 211 E. Eighth St. in Lawrence.

The sale will build on a tradition started with John Charlton’s downtown shop on Massachusetts Street in 1861 and Robert C. Manley’s agency launched in the late 1930s. The outgrowths of the two firms merged in 1982 to form Charlton Manley.

“The people who came before us were willing to plow new ground and take risks and make changes. They didn’t do what was comfortable : and required us to move out of our comfort zone,” said Gary Sollars, president and chief executive officer of Charlton Manley. “That’s exactly what we’re doing again: We’re moving out of our comfort zone. We’re doing something that we think is bold and very futuristic and : we’re doing it because we think it’s a way to keep growing in the future.”

The Charlton Manley offices – which last year produced revenues of more than $10 million – will become part of HRH’s central region.

HRH, a company traded on the New York Stock Exchange, has 3,700 employees and annual revenues of $724 million. Its expertise and corporate culture largely follow that of Charlton Manley, Sollars said, by focusing on the “writing of middle market business, Main Street type of accounts.”

But HRH also has operations that can help such clients limit their exposure in foreign markets and other sectors where Charlton Manley has little or no experience.

“We all know how the world works: The larger you are, the more clout you have, the more muscle you have in the marketplace, the better you’re able to strike deals for your clients,” Sollars said. “In our industry, that’s very much a function of size. The big houses are able to strike the best deals for their clients, so, certainly, the issue of scale and size and expanded platform were why we think it’s the right thing.”

Sollars said that Charlton Manley officials had been talking for as long as five years with representatives from HRH about a business combination. During that time, Charlton Manley has watched its business climb; since 2000-2001, he said, annual revenues have grown from $5 million to more than $10 million today.

HRH officials say they’re looking forward to having Charlton Manley on board.

“Charlton Manley and their excellent reputation will complement our existing capabilities and enhance our presence in eastern Kansas and western Missouri with their current locations,” said William L. Chaufty, director of HRH’s central region. “I am excited about our future growth possibilities. I look forward to expanding our geographic footprint to include the clients and prospects of Charlton Manley, and to delivering HRH’s national resources on a local level throughout Kansas.”

Duane Becker, Charlton Manley’s chief operating officer, will become president of the new Lawrence-based HRH operation, which will continue to focus on providing coverage for construction, medical professional liability, truckers’ liability, schools and athletic programs.