INBOUND UK private equity investment in insurance could have a record year in 2018, according to data that shows 28 deals have taken place over the last 18 months.
Europe saw 10 private equity insurance deals in July, up from the average of two transactions a month seen since January 2016, new figures collected by Unquote Data revealed, with the majority occurring in the UK.
Last year was the busiest year for more than a decade for private equity deals in the UK insurance sector after 20 deals worth an estimated aggregate of £4bn were completed.
Unquote Data editor Greg Gille said: “July stands out as something of an outlier, but the longer-term trend is also suggesting this increase is not a mere blip. “So far, 2018 has been home to 29 deals worth an estimated £7.4bn in aggregate value, according to Unquote Data.
This already exceeds the 27 deals worth around £4.4bn seen for the whole of 2017 – a year that itself marked a sharp increase in deal-doing in the sector and set a new post crisis record.
“Prior to that, the insurance space had been home to around 13 deals per year on average.” Last month the number of insurance investment deals in Europe reached almost €3.2bn (£2.9bn) in estimated aggregate value, which set a post-crisis record, the data said.
The sector is set to get a further boost after Esure, the firm that owns the Sheila’s Wheels brand, agreed to a £1.2bn takeover by private equity firm Bain Capital on Wednesday.
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