Wednesday, January 7, 2015, 2:13pm EST

Margie Manning | Tampa Bay Business Journal

Florida Agency Network has acquired Bella Title, a Land O' Lakes-based real estate title company.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Mica Butterwood, owner and operator of Bella Title, will serve as Florida Agency Network's relationship manager for northern Hillsborough County, a statement said.

Florida Agency Network is an umbrella organization of title companies that have been consolidated amid industry changes. Launched by Aaron Davis, president and CEO, and with its roots in Hillsborough Title in Plant City, Florida Agency Network has grown to be the largest title organization in Florida, Davis said.

"Just five years ago, we had one office and five employees," Davis said. "Today we have 27 offices and more than 200 staffers."

The Dodd-Frank financial reform measure is driving consolidation, Davis said. Title companies are now considered part of the financial services sector, and face increasing costs of regulatory compliance, including higher E&O [errors and omissions] insurance, banking-type audits and cybersecurity mandates.

"A lot of agencies are going out of business, selling or being rolled into a larger agency like mine," Davis said.

In addition to Hillsborough Title and Bella Title, other agencies in the network are: Tampa Bay Title, Paramount Title, Homeplus Title, Cornerstone Title, Uptown Title, Trident Title, Progressive Title Solutions, Performance Title & Escrow and CU Title.

Original Article