Agora, the Lloyd’s of London underwriting operation run by its active underwriter Mike Pritchard, has been approved for a full syndicate at Lloyd’s, an upgrade from the Special Purpose Arrangement (SPA) it had previously operated as.
Agora Syndicate 3268 has now been approved by Lloyd’s to begin underwriting business that attaches from 1st January 2018. The syndicate will be managed by third-party managing agent at Lloyd’s Asta and has been privately capitalised by a number of established industry players.
Agora Syndicate 3268 plans to underwrite gross premiums of £98m for 2018, underwritten by Mike Pritchard. The syndicate will focus on property business, largely direct & facultative, binder and treaty business on a worldwide basis.
Mike Pritchard, CEO of Agora Underwriting, commented, “Since launching in 2016, our long-term ambition has been to establish Agora as a market-facing syndicate. I am very pleased to confirm that we will commence underwriting business as Agora Syndicate 3268 in the new year. This is evidence of our success, market expertise and the hard work of the team. I look forward to continuing the Agora story with the team and the support of all our capital partners and managing agent Asta.”
Julian Tighe, CEO at Asta, also said, “Over the past two years, Agora has undergone measured and sustainable progress. It has been a pleasure to see Mike and his team develop such a strong book of business from the ground up. We are very pleased that Agora has received approval to underwrite as a market-facing syndicate. We look forward to continuing to work with the Agora team and provide underwriting management, regulatory and business support, which will help ensure its success into 2018 and beyond.”
Agora had operated as Special Purpose Arrangement (SPA) 6126 at Lloyd’s since 2016. The SPA had been set up to underwrite property business on behalf of Skuld syndicate 1897, one of its backers. The new full Syndicate 3268 received its ‘in principal’ approval from the Lloyd’s Franchise Board in September this year.
It’s likely Skuld remains a key backer of the full Agora syndicate at Lloyd’s.
