The volume of insurance M&A deals across Europe rose by 26% from 85 to 110 in the second quarter of 2022 compared to Q2 2021, according to the European Insurance M&A Barometer by FTI Consulting.
Despite spiralling inflation and rising interest rates across Europe, the data points to the continuation of investment flow in the insurance market fuelled by intermediary consolidation.
André Frazão, Associate Partner in the Global Insurance Services practice at FTI, said: “Despite unrelenting macroeconomic headwinds, broker consolidation activity continues to be underpinned by the large spread between the target’s purchase multiple and the platform trading multiple in the distribution and service provider sectors.”
The UK and Ireland remained the most active region during the reporting period, accounting for more than half of all European insurance M&A transactions in Q2 2022 with 63 deals, a 17% increase on the total reported in Q2 2021.
Iberia also saw an increase in activity levels with 13 deals during the reporting period compared to five in Q2 2021, an increase of 160%.
Italy completes the list of most active three regions with a positive quarterly comparison, with a 43% increase in deal activity, whereas in the Nordics, there were six transactions in the last quarter, representing a drop of 40% when compared to Q2 2021.
Jeremy Riley, a Managing Director in the Global Insurance Services practice at FTI, said: “The level of M&A activity in the London carrier market remained relatively modest, continuing a trend that has been observed over the last 18 months,.”
“However, there could be an argument to be made that for the right investor, perhaps now could be the time to buy a Lloyd’s platform if you have conviction that hard market conditions for certain lines of business are set to continue.”
