UK Home Insurer Policy Expert Considers £1 Billion Sale

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UK home insurer Policy Expert’s owner is considering a potential sale that could raise as much as £1 billion ($1.2 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said.

Investment firm Primary Group Ltd. is working with advisory firm Perella Weinberg Partners to gauge interest in Policy Expert’s parent company, which is officially known as QMetric Group, the people said.

Some private equity firms have already expressed interest in the business, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Primary Group may start formally inviting bids in the second half of this year, the people said.

Potential buyers will be carefully watching the ongoing sale process for British insurer First Central Group Ltd., which underwrites car insurance. Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty they will lead to a transaction, the people said.

A spokesperson for QMetric declined to comment, while representatives for Primary Group and Perella Weinberg didn’t immediately respond to emailed queries.

QMetric recorded about £177 million of gross written premiums in the year through March 2021, according to a corporate filing.

The value of private equity acquisitions in Europe’s insurance sector stands at $868 million this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Last week, Zurich Insurance Group AG agreed to sell a portfolio of legacy German life insurance policies to Cinven’s Viridium Holding AG, the latest transaction in the busy corner of financial dealmaking.

Photograph: Residential homes in Kingston-upon-Thames, UK. Photo credit: Jason Alden/Bloomberg.