Professional Services Firm Davies Completes Acquisition of Asta at Lloyd’s

Davies, the London-based specialist professional services and technology business, announced it has completed the acquisition of Asta Capital, the third-party managing agent at Lloyd’s, following receipt of regulatory approval.

Davies said the deal adds significant strength and reach to its global insurance services practice by broadening its ability to offer end-to-end insurance management solutions to entrepreneurial underwriters and MGAs, intermediaries, re/insurers and captives, Lloyd’s syndicates, and insurtechs.

Financial details of the deal, which was first announced in September 2021, were not disclosed.

Headquartered in London, Asta is a driver of innovation in Lloyd’s and the London market. For example, it formalized the syndicate start-up process and developed the syndicate-in-a-box (SIAB) framework with Lloyd’s. Asta provides potential Lloyd’s market entrants with choices such as full syndicates, SIABs, special purpose arrangements, and captives.

Asta manages 16 syndicates (including five SIABs), four MGAs, and manages a gross premium in excess of £1.5 billion.

Asta CEO Julian Tighe and Chief Underwriting Officer Simon Norton will retain their existing responsibilities and additionally assist in growing Davies insurance services practice as members of Davies global executive leadership team. The Asta executive team will invest in Davies, becoming shareholders as the firm embarks on its next phase of investment in digital transformation, innovation, and growth.

In recent years Davies’ Insurance Services unit has diversified and deepened its global capability to provide: audit, subrogation management, property & casualty insurance inspection and insurance focused actuarial consulting for its 1,200-plus insurance and highly regulated clients.

As a global captive manager, Davies supports more than 250 captive and cell companies. It has launched 60 MGAs and is the Lloyd’s Market Association’s preferred credit-control service provider, managing £17 billion of syndicate earned premium income across the 2020 to 2022 open years. Its binding authority management service has improved coverholder management and performance for several Lloyd’s managing agents, processing more than 65,000 bordereaux annually.

In April 2022 Davies accelerated into the regulatory technology market through the acquisition of Worksmart, a supplier of regulatory technology (regtech) for people and process management. Worksmart’s complaints management platform is the number one platform for complaints management and feedback in the Lloyd’s market, said Davies.

With 6,000-plus colleagues operating in Bermuda, Canada, India, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and US, Davies delivers professional services and technology solutions across the risk and insurance value chain, including excellence in claims, underwriting, distribution, regulation, customer experience, human capital, digital transformation & change management.

“This is a transformational deal for Davies in Lloyd’s, the London market, and beyond. Uniting Asta’s deep-seated Lloyd’s position with our existing insurance services and complaints management technology, specifically developed for the Lloyd’s market, enables us to take an exciting new message to our clients, extending our global offering with end-to-end support throughout our clients’ lifecycles at Lloyd’s,” commented Dan Saulter, group CEO, Davies.

“With almost no overlap in the services of Asta and Davies, and our closely matched cultures of innovation and growth, combining Asta and Davies makes perfect sense,” said Julian Tighe, CEO of Asta. “Our existing and prospective clients will benefit from the broad range of technology-led services offered by Davies and Asta employees will benefit from much-extended opportunities and initiatives. It’s a superb outcome for all Asta stakeholders.”

Source: Davies

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Excess Surplus Lloyd's