’The fundamentals of the market are such that you can make money if you operate and focus in the right way,’ says chief executive
Ageas agreed to purchase Esure for £1.3bn after the insurer “thought hard” about its competitive position in the personal lines market.
That was according to Ageas UK chief executive Ant Middle, who told Insurance Times that the deal “puts us in a position where we believe we really can compete in a highly competitive market over the long-term”.
The agreement was announced this morning (14 April 2025), with Ageas stating 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 deal comes after the insurer tried to acquire Direct Line Group (DLG) in early 2024. DLG rejected two of its proposals, before going onto accept a larger offer from Aviva later in the year.
Asked how Ageas will take on Aviva and DLG following its takeover of Esure, Middle said: “As we think about the market – and we’ve seen the market develop and consolidation happen – we thought hard about our competitive position in the market.
“The fundamentals of the UK personal lines market are attractive for players that have got scale, focus and agility – they have performed well over a cycle over time.
“So, the fundamentals of the market are such that you can make money if you operate and focus in the right way.”
Speaking about scale in particular, Middle went onto say: “We think having scale is important and therefore having scale in terms of economies and data are really important to be able to compete for the long-term.
“Therefore, taking this step puts us in a position where we believe we really can compete in a highly competitive market over the long-term and that is why we have wanted to strike this deal and [do it] with the right business. And we certainly see Esure as that.”
Terms of the deal
Esure is owned by private equity (PE) firm Bain Capital, which acquired the provider in 2018 for £1.21bn.
Read: Ageas UK expands broking team with two senior hires
Read: Organic growth focused plan seeks to put Ageas UK top of the personal lines pile
Explore more M&A-related content here, or discover other news stories here
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.
Completion of the transaction is expected to occur in the second half of 2025 and remains subject to regulatory approvals.
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.
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
No comments yet