Ageas says the deal will create the third largest UK personal lines platform
Ageas has reached an agreement to acquire motor and home insurance provider Esure for over £1bn.
Esure is owned by private equity (PE) firm Bain Capital, which acquired the provider in 2018 for £1.21bn.
Under the terms of the transaction, Ageas will pay Bain Capital a cash consideration of £1.3bn for the firm, which will be financed through a combination of surplus cash and newly issued senior and hybrid debt and/or equity within the existing authorisations.
Ageas said the deal would create the third largest UK personal lines platform with a balanced and diversified distribution spanning direct price comparison websites (PCW), brokers and partnerships.
“The acquisition of Esure will enable Ageas UK to accelerate the diversification of its distribution strategy into the important PCW channel in the UK market,” the insurer added.
“Its underwriting footprint will widen Ageas UK’s target customer demographics and enable growth to a top-line of £3.25bn by 2028.”
Completion of the transaction is expected to occur in the second half of 2025 and remains subject to regulatory approvals.
’Significant addition’
This comes after Insurance Times reported that there was strong strategic interest in Esure in March 2025.
Read: Strong interest in Esure as bids for insurance provider due in few weeks
Read: Why 2024 was a transformational year for UK M&A
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Earlier this month (1 April 2025), Esure said it had secured a profit after tax of £57.7m in the 12 months to December 2024, up from a loss of £60.1m the year before.
The firm’s combined operating ratio also improved year-on-year, dropping from 102.5% to 84.5%, while turnover increased from £973m to £1.11bn.
The improved figures came following Esure completing its multiyear transformation in 2024, with the firm going through a complete rebuild.
David McMillan, Esure group chief executive, said the “transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses and creates an even stronger platform for continued innovation, growth and excellent delivery for our customers”.
“Combining Ageas’s scale, financial strength and excellent broker relationships with Esure’s strong retail brands, market-leading data capabilities and strength on PCWs, alongside a shared technology platform, will enhance our combined ability to invest in our customer proposition and open up new opportunities for growth,” he added.
“I am deeply proud of what the Esure team has achieved to date. We look forward to working alongside the Ageas team to build the UK’s leading personal lines insurer.”
Ant Middle, Ageas UK chief executive, said: “Esure is a significant addition to the Ageas UK business and aligns perfectly with our growth strategy. As demand for motor and home insurance grows, Ageas will be perfectly positioned to gain market share and become the insurer of choice for our existing and new customers.
“The combined Ageas and Esure franchise will benefit from an outstanding customer offering, through market leading technology and prominent brands, that will drive our expansion into new customer demographics.”
His career began in 2019, when he joined a local north London newspaper after graduating from the University of Sheffield with a first-class honours degree in journalism.
He took up the position of deputy news editor at Insurance Times in March 2023, before being promoted to his current role in May 2024.View full Profile
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