Briefing: US broker should welcome $2bn investment as it continues UK expansion

Private equity (PE) firm Bain Capital is back in the insurance news again, with it reportedly eyeing up a huge investment in US-based broker Acrisure.

According to a report by Bloomberg, published on 29 April 2025, Acrisure is in talks to receive as much as $2bn (£1.5bn) from a group led by Bain Capital’s special situations arm.

The publication added that people familiar with the matter said the new investment is set to take the form of preferred equity, which gives the investor certain preferences over common equity holders.

These reports come after Bain Capital agreed to sell Esure last month (April 2025), with the PE firm having acquired the UK motor and home insurance provider in 2018 for £1.21bn.

Personal lines specialist insurer Ageas will pay a cash consideration of £1.3bn to take Esure out of the Bain Capital family, with the deal being financed through a combination of surplus cash and newly issued senior and hybrid debt and equity within the existing authorisations.

Acrisure expansion

However, given Bain Capital’s reported interest in Acrisure, it shows the PE firm is still keen on the UK insurance market.

As already stated, Acrisure is US-based, but the firm has been expanding in the UK after entering the market in 2022 with the acquisition of Nottingham-based Russell Scanlan.

Acrisure currently owns a total of nine UK retail insurance brokers. This month (May 2025), it announced a rebranding spree, with all the purchased firms set to change their names over 2025.

Sutton Winson became the first to make the switch on 1 May 2025, with it now being known as Acrisure UK Broking.

Mark McIlquham, chief executive at Acrisure UK, said: “We acquired our first UK retail insurance broker in 2022 and ever since, we have been building a community of brokers to service our incredible clients.

“Our UK presence has developed into a highly connected entity.”

Bain Capital experience

Chances are that Acrisure will continue expanding in the UK with more acquisitions – and perhaps an investment from Bain Capital could be used to help with more consolidation.

In addition to providing money, Bain Capital has experience helping an insurance firm to grow – it looked after Esure as it went through its multiyear transformation, for example.

Esure chief executive David McMillan said this rebuild had “been a really fundamental ground up redesign as a company”.

He added: “We’ve pretty much changed all the technology, all the processes and all the customer journeys.”

And, in a trading update published on 1 April 2025, the home and motor insurer said it 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 over this time frame, dropping from 102.5% to 84.5%, while turnover increased from £973m to £1.11bn.

Speaking after Esure was acquired by Ageas, Luca Bassi, partner at Bain Capital, said: “We are pleased to have supported Esure through its transformation and growth journey. During our ownership, Esure built the leading tech platform in UK insurance and its highly efficient operations have set a new standard for the industry.

“This transaction [with Ageas] is a testament to Esure’s strong market position and the state-of-the-art technology platform built under Bain Capital’s tenure, with the business now at record levels of profitability.”

In terms of Acrisure, Bloomberg said that terms of the possible transaction have not been finalised and could still change.

But, given Bain Capital’s insurance experience, support from the PE firm would surely be welcomed by Acrisure as it continues to expand in the UK.