M&A trends in the UK insurance sector
After 2024 ended with the mega merger of Aviva and Direct Line being lined up, Insurance Post’s latest podcast examines whether more takeovers are on the cards for the UK industry in 2025.
Howard Lickens, executive chairman of the Clear Group, Michael Sicsic, managing partner of Sicsic Advisory, and James Dodd, partner and co-founder at Devonshire, consider whether the amount of consolidation in recent years could reduce the number of deals in the next 12 months.
Sicsic said 2025 will be as busy, or even more busy, than 2024 when it comes to deals among the top 50 brokers in the UK.
Dodd said dividing up the general insurance sector, there is unlikely to be a repeat of the Aviva and DLG deal when it comes to scale in the provider space in the next 12 months, more mergers in the broker space “but not a huge number” and more action in the MGA space.
Host Scott McGee asked Lickens whether his business will be buying more MGAs.
Lickens said: “Having the ability to be responsible for the customer journey from beginning to end is attractive. MGAs are part of the mix for sure. Moving into the next lane in the swimming pool.”
The trio consider whether regulation and competition concerns have caused issues with deals, plus whether the size of certain brokerages means a stock market flotation could be imminent.
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