Continental Title acquires Evans Title offices in Taney County

Continental Title Co. entered the Taney County market last month by acquiring Evans Title Co. for an undisclosed sum.

The provider of title insurance and escrow services, with headquarters in Overland Park, Kan., and St. Louis, primarily operates in four metropolitan areas in the Midwest: Springfield, Kansas City, St. Louis and Wichita, Kan. Continental has more than 160 employees in 15 offices.

Evans Title was equally owned by Springfield attorneys Gail Fredrick and Ken Rogers, who are partners with Fredrick, Rogers & Vaughn PC.

Through the deal, which closed Feb. 15, Continental gained a closing office with two employees in Branson and a title plant in downtown Forsyth that employs eight, said Paul Pailer, Continental's regional marketing director.

Continental already has two offices in Springfield, the first of which opened at 1531 E. Bradford Parkway, Ste. 220, in 2007. The second office is at 1440 E. Kearney St. on the city's north side.

The offices in Branson, 800 State Highway 248, and Forsyth, 163 Main St., will give Continental's Springfield offices some much-needed relief, said Continental co-owner and Chief Financial Officer Matt McBride.

McBride said the company was attracted to Taney County because of ongoing - albeit less - construction in Branson and around Table Rock Lake. He also mentioned the May opening of Branson Airport, a $155 million privately funded venture in the 8,000-acre Branson Creek development along U.S. Highway 65.

"We needed to have a brick-and-mortar location down there," McBride said.See SBJ's March 9 issue for more on this story.