In its latest trading update, B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc, an investor specialising in early-stage financial services businesses, confirmed that it has maintained portfolio growth across the board, emphasising that a softening market creates opportunities for the firm.
B.P. Marsh monitors key trends across the wider risk transfer market continuously, particularly premium rate developments and M&A activity.
According to the Global Insurance Market Index published by Marsh, global commercial insurance rates in the second quarter of 2026 declined by 6%, after a 5% reduction in the first quarter, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of declining rates.
By product line, global property rates declined by 12%, while casualty rates increased by 2%, including a 7% increase in the US. Meanwhile, there was a 3% global decline in financial and professional lines rates, while overall UK commercial insurance rates fell by 8%.
The firm believes that its focus on specialist and niche areas in the market provides some resilience to broader rating pressures. It views the current softening as cyclical, with competition increasingly reflected through broader coverage and higher limits, as well as headline pricing.
B.P. Marsh highlights that consolidation across the insurance market continued through 2026, albeit at a more measured pace. In H1’26, 41 mergers & acquisitions (M&A) transactions were announced across the UK insurance distribution sector, with specialist businesses accounting for more than a quarter of activity and private equity supporting 41% of transactions.
The firm stated, “We continue to view consolidation as a source of opportunity, as entrepreneurial teams seek to establish or grow independent platforms, creating potential for both new investments and opportunities within the existing portfolio. We are also monitoring the impact of artificial intelligence on the insurance industry and view AI as a net enabler, supporting greater automation and improved data management while allowing brokers, underwriters and advisers to focus on client relationships and judgement-led work.”
In H1’26, B.P. Marsh acquired a 25% stake in Ventura, a 30% stake in Nine Edge, and a 17.9% preferred interest in Autonomy.
The group also completed the sale of its 39.2% shareholding in Amiga to Sodalis Capital Limited, a fellow B.P. Marsh portfolio company, receiving £0.7 million in cash consideration and full repayment of its £1.8 million loan facility.
Additionally, in April 2026, the firm acquired a further 2% Cumulative Preferred Ordinary equity stake in Pantheon, increasing its total shareholding to 41%.
In terms of the firm’s other investee companies, ATC Insurance Solutions Pty Ltd has continued to pursue its growth and diversification strategy through the acquisition of a London- and Sydney-based insurance intermediary, Frontier Global UW Limited, comprising a Financial Lines MGA and complementary wholesale broking business.
Sodalis Capital Limited has continued to execute its buy-and-build strategy at pace since the firm’s investment in November 2025, adding both an underwriting platform and a specialist broking operation within its first year of trading.
In March 2026, Sodalis launched Brecon Specialty Limited, a newly formed London-based wholesale insurance broker focused on Cyber and Technology Errors & Omissions risks globally.
Lastly, post-period end, Verve continued to expand its underwriting capabilities by adding two new specialist underwriting teams, one dedicated to US and International Financial Institutions, and expanding its existing US Errors & Omissions business through the addition of a specialist underwriting capability focused on US Professional Liability risks for Lawyers, Architects & Engineers and Accountants.
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