Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a private investment firm with a specialist focus on the intersection of technology and finance, has acquired a majority stake in Ripe Thinking Limited, a UK digital underwriting and insurance distribution platform.
Ripe was founded in 1997 and serves customers across both personal and small commercial lines. The insurtech has more than 280,000 policyholders and provides protection across golf, boats, caravans, and cycles, as well as cover to small business owners.
Following the signing of a definitive agreement and subsequent investment, Aquiline will work closely with Ripe’s management team to continue and accelerate the development of a market-leading digital insurance distribution platform.
Ripe’s management team will continue to be led by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Williams, and Founder & Managing Director John Woosey, who will retain a significant equity stake, and Sarah Jones as Marketing Director.
The insurtech’s proprietary technology enables clients to “build their own policy”, offering bespoke solutions in an optimised online journey. Over the past 12 months, Ripe has seen its revenue increase by 27%.
Jeff Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Aquiline, commented: “The way people buy insurance is changing. As more individuals turn to online platforms to purchase insurance, Ripe offers a simple process for buying policies online while still ensuring quality coverage at a good value.
“We believe that John, Paul, and their team have built a high-quality and scalable digital platform that can identify customer demands, and design and distribute products to address these efficiently. We are excited to partner with them through the next phase of their journey.”
Woosey added: “We are excited to partner with Aquiline, whose deep understanding of the UK and global insurance markets, and their track record of supporting technology-enabled businesses will allow us to further develop our offerings to our customers and continue to build out our underwriting and distribution capabilities.
“This partnership is a testament to the work of our incredible team who have delivered our strong and consistent growth year after year. The investment will allow us to accelerate our ambitions for international growth while still effectively and efficiently serving our customers across the UK.”
Williams said: “Aquiline is an ideal partner to support Ripe through our next phase of growth. The investment will allow us to further expand the capabilities of our industry-leading technology platform and reach customers through new and innovative channels. Aquiline and Ripe share a strategic vision for the company and I am excited to lead the business through its next phase of growth.”
The investment remains subject to both parties obtaining relevant regulatory approval.
Houlihan Lokey provided corporate finance advice and Norton Rose Fulbright provided legal advice to Aquiline.
Due diligence was performed by Deloitte (financial, tax and regulatory), and Crosslake Technologies.
Keefe Bruyette & Woods (KBW) provided corporate finance advice and Ernst & Young provided legal advice to Ripe. Vendor due diligence was performed by Oliver Wyman and KPMG.
