Belgian insurance group Ageas has announced an agreement with Bain Capital to acquire esure, propelling it into the top three insurers in the UK with a deal valued at £1.295 billion (€1.51 billion).
Esure is a leader in the digital insurance market for individuals with a strong position in distribution via price comparison sites in the UK.
Ageas said the deal strengthens its presence in European markets by acquiring a controlled entity, enhances its positioning in the UK, generates value for shareholders through synergies, and improves cash flow generation for the group.
The combined entity of Ageas UK and esure will create the third-largest UK platform for individual insurance.
The expanded underwriting presence will broaden Ageas UK's target customer base and is expected to achieve a turnover of £3.25 billion (€3.8 billion) by 2028.
Over the past four years, Ageas UK has established itself as a successful insurer with over four million customers. Esure, in turn, is one of the UK's leading personal insurers, with over 2.1 million policies and generating gross written premiums of £1 billion (€1.2 billion) last year.
"This transaction will allow us to offer competitive value propositions to a broader customer profile through a multichannel distribution model, positioning Ageas UK as one of the top three personal insurers," said Ageas CEO Hans De Cuyper.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
