July offers ‘proof of life’ for UK insurance distribution M&A market

While M&A deals have been sluggish in the UK insurance distribution sector across the first half of 2026, a comparatively strong performance in July – at least in terms of deal value – offers “proof of life” in the M&A market.

This is according to the latest Today’s Viewpoint report from investment banking and consulting firm MarshBerry – released 6 August 2026 and titled Proof of Life in UK Insurance Distribution M&A.

The report revealed that six new deals were completed in July, two more than the four seen in June. While the deal count for both months remained markedly below the long-term average, July’s total deal value considerably exceeded historical averages.

July’s notable deals included the sale of Preservation Capital Partners’ majority holding of Optio Group to Cinven and La Caisse – the largest sector deal of the year – as well as the entrance of French broking and mortgage group Odealim into the UK market with the purchase of Leicester-based specialist brokers Rhino Trade Insurance, Rhino Home Protect, Rhino Protect, Vantage, Quest and ICPA.

Fewer deals

Despite this, 2026 – with 47 deals now completed – is currently tracking to see fewer deals than the 99 recorded in 2025, which itself saw substantially less activity than the 151 and 152 deals completed across 2023 and 2024 respectively.

Report author John Nisbet, managing director at MarshBerry, explained that “transaction volumes remain muted, with a large number of the historically most acquisitive firms having either slowed down or quietly paused their UK M&A this year”.

“Even if the market sees a short-term rush of deals in the autumn – which is a possibility in light of the potential threat of a change in capital gains tax in the next budget, now scheduled for the last week of October, so sellers need to be quick – 2026 is likely to end with fewer announced deals than 2025,” he added.