Davies completes purchase of Asta Capital
Davies, the specialist professional services and technology business, has completed its acquisition of Asta Capital, a third-party managing general agent (MGA) at Lloyd’s, following approval by regulators including Lloyd’s, the UK’s Financial Conduct and Prudential Regulation Authorities, and the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
Globally, Davies’ 6,000+ colleagues operate across Bermuda, Canada, India, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
Based in London, UK, Asta formalised the syndicate start-up process and developed the syndicate-in-a-box (SIAB) framework with Lloyd’s. It manages 16 syndicates (including five SIABs), four MGAs, and manages a gross premium in excess of £1.5 billion.
Asta chief executive officer (CEO) Julian Tighe and chief underwriting officer Simon Norton will retain their existing responsibilities and additionally assist in growing Davies insurance services practice as members of Davies Global Executive Leadership Team. The Asta executive team will invest in Davies, becoming shareholders as the firm embarks on its next phase of investment in digital transformation, innovation, and growth.
In recent years Davies’ Insurance Services unit has diversified and deepened its global capability to provide: audit, subrogation management, property & casualty insurance inspection and insurance focused actuarial consulting for its 1,200+ insurance and highly regulated clients.
Davies supports more than 250 captive and cell companies. It has launched 60 MGAs and is the Lloyd’s Market Association’s preferred credit-control service provider, managing £17 billion of syndicate earned premium income across the 2020 to 2022 open years. Its binding authority management service has improved coverholder management and performance for several Lloyd’s managing agents, processing more than 65,000 bordereaux annually.
In April 2022, Davies accelerated into the regulatory technology market through the acquisition of Worksmart, the number one supplier of regulatory technology for people and process management.
Dan Saulter, group CEO of Davies, said: “This is a transformational deal for Davies in Lloyd’s, the London market, and beyond. Uniting Asta’s deep-seated Lloyd’s position with our existing insurance services and complaints management technology, specifically developed for the Lloyd’s market, enables us to take an exciting new message to our clients, extending our global offering with end-to-end support throughout our clients’ lifecycles at Lloyd’s.”
Tighe added: “With almost no overlap in the services of Asta and Davies, and our closely matched cultures of innovation and growth, combining Asta and Davies makes perfect sense. Our existing and prospective clients will benefit from the broad range of technology-led services offered by Davies and Asta employees will benefit from much-extended opportunities and initiatives. It’s a superb outcome for all Asta stakeholders.”
