Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group has bought The Towner Management Group, the largest independent captive manager in Barbados.The company has also entered into a joint venture with Towner’s Vermont-based US arm, Towner Management US.JLT Towner, as it is being rebranded, will maintain its Caribbean headquarters in Barbados and US headquarters in Burlington, Vermont, retaining the Towner management teams for both operations.JLT sees this as an opportunity to extend its presence into the US and in a statement, Towner Management said the US joint venture will combine its growing US presence and access to Central and South American markets with JLT’s global reach.JLT is an international broker employing 7,000 people worldwide including about 30 here in Bermuda. It opened in Barbados two years ago.Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.