CFC, the emerging risks focused and specialist cyber insurer, has secured a major investment joint-led by two of Europe’s leading private equity firms, EQT and Vitruvian, which will see CFC’s employee shareholders almost double.
Founded more than 20 years ago, CFC has established itself as a global leader in cyber and provider of coverage for a diverse range of emerging risks.
Currently, the company writes 50 products across 20 classes of specialist insurance focused primarily on SME businesses.
The fintech is technologically-driven and its proprietary global insurance platform claims smarter, faster underwriting while leveraging powerful data science and advanced threat intelligence to anticipate exposure and protect clients.
Over the past three year, CFC says that it has significantly grown its employee count and now has a global footprint with over 500 staff located across the UK, US, Europe, and Australia.
Earlier this year, CFC announced that its Syndicate 1988 had incepted and begun trading.
According to CFC, it has an annual premium run rate in excess of £750 million and delivered an organic EBITDA CAGR of 35% over the past five years.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval, but once completed, CFC stands to almost double its employee shareholders from 175 to more than 300. Employees will continue to be the largest shareholding block in CFC.
Dave Walsh, CFC founder and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), commented: “We’re delighted to welcome EQT as an investor alongside Vitruvian. Both EQT and Vitruvian’s focus on high-growth technology companies and commitment to creating a positive impact through their portfolios is a natural fit with CFC and our ethos as an independent, employee-owned business. EQT’s investment, and Vitruvian’s reinvestment, is testament to CFC’s track record of delivering strong, profitable growth underpinned by the expertise of our people and our history of market-leading technology innovation.
“As we look ahead, we see a risk landscape that is rapidly shifting, with ever-expanding cyber threats, new insurance challenges presented by intangible assets and evolving risks in rapid growth sectors. CFC has a key role to play in helping our growing customer base address these challenges, while the pioneering technology we’ve built over the last two decades is enabling us to deliver at increasing scale. We look forward to partnering with EQT and thank Vitruvian for their continued partnership. It has never been a more exciting time to be at CFC.”
Robert Maclean, Partner at EQT, said: “CFC is a truly innovative insurance business with technology at its core and a track record of growth and profitability which surpasses even the most mature fintech businesses we’ve seen. The accelerating pace of investment in its core platform aligns perfectly with EQT’s approach of future-proofing companies.”
Joe O’ Mara, Partner at Vitruvian, added: “As longstanding partners and investors in CFC, we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the road ahead. We’ve witnessed first-hand what a remarkable business CFC is – a tribute to the leadership team, the culture they’ve created and the commitment to excellence and innovation that has kept CFC at the forefront of the insurance market.”
While Sofia Ahuja, Managing Director at EQT, said: “CFC’s unrivalled reputation in cyber insurance and focus on emerging risk areas ensures that it is well-placed to capture the significant growth expected in the classes it writes. We’re delighted to invest alongside Vitruvian at this exciting stage in CFC’s journey.”
And Stephen Byrne, Partner at Vitruvian, commented: “We would like to thank the whole CFC team for a great partnership over the last four years and we are excited to be able to continue to support their ambitions for the future.”
