’Our strengthened market presence will also enable us to deliver further value to UK motorcyclists,’ says managing director
Principal Insurance has acquired Bristol-based broker Europa Group to become a top five player in the motorcycle market.
Europa Group and its Motorcycle Direct brand were founded in 1997 to serve motorcyclists and scooterists.
Ridersure was established in 1999 as a broker-to-broker network and now sits as a brand under Europa Underwriting, which was launched in 2003 to offer niche, custom motorcycle and car schemes.
Financed exclusively through shareholder funds, the deal includes Motorcycle Direct and Europa Underwriting. Principal said the move would create a broking group serving more than 120,000 policyholders and generating over £60m in annual gross written premium (GWP).
Principal also felt the deal will place it among the top five intermediaries in the motorcycle market and provide a launch pad for further expansion in the sector.
“This acquisition not only makes impeccable commercial sense to Principal, but provides Europa with the opportunity to unlock shareholder value while joining a group with the scale and investment capacity to support its next phase of growth,” said Principal’s managing director Dave Bowcock.
“Europa has a fantastic retail pedigree upon which, through investment and our product and technological expertise, we will further build.
“Our strengthened market presence will also enable us to deliver further value to UK motorcyclists, reaching deeper into the niches within what is a highly specialist sector. It’s safe to say too, that this is a development which will invigorate a market that is in need of invigoration.”
’Perfect fit’
Bowcock confirmed that Principal will retain Europa Group’s office in Bristol, with the group’s 77-strong workforce largely unaffected.
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Europa Group’s managing director Richard Waring said: “Having built the business through investment in technology and innovation, we decided the time was right to realise its value and pass it on into safe and trusted hands.
“As a tech-savvy and ambitious specialist broker, Principal is a perfect fit for Europa’s brands.
”No one better understands the market and how to secure sustainable growth through satisfaction of niche demands and service delivery.”
The deal follows Principal’s purchase last November of Peart Performance Marque’s renewal book and is the latest in an ongoing series of acquisitions.
The company is actively looking to complement its organic growth through the purchase of both specialist brokers and books across personal and commercial lines.
“We’re acquisition hungry and have the funds to fuel that appetite,” said Bowcock.
“If you’re looking to exit markets in which we’re active, talk to us.”
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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