B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc (AIM: BPM), the niche venture capital provider to early stage financial services businesses, is pleased to note that its investee company Nexus Underwriting Management Limited (“Nexus”), in which it holds a 17.2% shareholding, has announced that it has completed the acquisitions of Huntington Underwriting Limited (“Huntington”) on 6 September 2018 and Altitude Risk Partners LLP (“Altitude”) on 7 September 2018.
Altitude Risk Partners LLP
Founded in 2014, Altitude is a specialist aviation Managing General Agency (“MGA”) based in London, co-founded by David Godley, Tim Wright and Richard Power. Nexus purchased Altitude via an asset purchase from Castel Underwriting Agencies. Altitude has become a trading division of Nexus Underwriting Limited. Altitude underwrites a portfolio of seven lines of aerospace insurance across 130 territories.
Prior to co-founding Altitude, David Godley held a number of senior positions at Global Aerospace and has over 20 years' experience in the sector. Tim Wright has over 27 years' experience as a specialist aerospace underwriter, having previously worked at Aon and Global Aerospace, before co-founding Altitude. Richard Power has numerous years' experience as an underwriter, having previously worked at Catlin Insurance Company Limited, Starr Underwriting Agents and Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers Ltd.
For the year ending 31 December 2018 Altitude is forecasting Gross Written Premium Income in excess of $80m.
Colin Thompson, Founder and Group CEO of Nexus has commented: “This is an evolutionary acquisition for Nexus, augmenting our 'virtual insurer' model by adding Aviation and Space, two highly specialised classes of business to our existing 12 classes. Now is an excellent time for us to be buying an Aerospace MGA, with capacity being withdrawn, rates hardening, improving safety standards and increased focus on underwriting profitability across the market.”
Huntington Underwriting Limited
Huntington is a structured solutions MGA based in Malaysia's Labuan International Business and Financial Centre. Huntington offer tailored, non-traditional (re)insurance programmes that manage the volatility in groups of risks, over several years, incorporating aggregate limits of liability and rewarding underwriting profitability.
Huntington has been in operation since 2014 and will continue to be run by its founders, Gerard Pennefather and Anthony Egerton as Chairman and Managing Director respectively. Colin Thompson, Mike Sibthorpe and Stuart Rouse, members of Nexus senior management team, will be appointed to Huntington's Board, subject to regulatory approvals. Huntington will be renamed Nexus Structured Solutions, forming part of the wider Nexus Group.
Gerard Pennefather has more than 35 years' experience in insurance, corporate finance, banking and consultancy. Anthony Egerton has many decades experience in (re)insurance and structured finance, including as President of Asia-Pacific, Lloyd's of London, based in Singapore.
Colin Thompson, Founder and Group CEO of Nexus, has commented: “Following the acquisition of Huntington, the Nexus Group now has an Asian presence in Hong Kong and Malaysia. This strengthens our offering to local brokers and markets as we continue to focus on Asian strategic initiatives, while moving us closer to our ambition of becoming the largest MGA in Asia over the next three years.”
Daniel Topping, B.P. Marsh's Chief Investment Officer and the Company's nominee director on the Board of Nexus, commented; “This is another pleasing step in Nexus' growth trajectory, further developing their product offering and geographical footprint via value accretive M&A activity, which has served them well since our investment, as demonstrated by the enviable growth.”
As a result of these two transactions, the Nexus Group estimates that, for the year ending 31 December 2018, the business will write total Gross Written Premium of $350m across 15 specialty classes of business, and return income of £41m and EBITDA of £15m. Nexus continues its M&A growth strategy, continues to target three acquisitions per annum and has completed 12 acquisitions in total.