Sell Your Insurance Broker Business in the UK in 2026: Insurance Broker Consolidation, PE Buyers, FCA Transfer, BADR

Selling your insurance broker business in the UK in 2026 means selling into insurance broker consolidation, where private equity backed groups buy regional and specialist brokers, and it involves country-specific mechanics that US-focused advisors miss. Companies House transfer notifications, HMRC BADR (Business Asset Disposal Relief) capital gains treatment, and FCA regulatory transfer requirements all shape both deal structure and after-tax proceeds. Multiples clear 8-14x EBITDA at platform scale where recurring commission book depth dominates. Named PE-backed acquirers include Ardonagh, Howden, PIB, Acrisure UK, plus regional consolidators.

A UK broker is regulated, carries client money, and depends on insurer agencies that can be withdrawn. That makes its sale different from almost any other owner-managed business. The buyer is not only buying a book of renewals; it is taking on FCA permissions, terms of business agreements with insurers, appointed representative relationships if you have them, and the conduct record behind every policy you have placed. This page walks through how that plays out in practice: who is buying, how the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approval works, what diligence teams ask for, how deal terms are built, and how HMRC taxes what you receive.

CT Acquisitions advises founder-owned businesses on sell side, buy side and exit planning work, with a network of 500+ buyers and capital partners. For UK brokers we focus on the questions that decide your net proceeds: which buyer type fits your book, how much of the price is paid on completion, and how the timing of completion interacts with the FCA and HMRC rules described below. The first conversation is confidential and covered by an NDA.

Why are so many UK broker owners selling?

The reasons tend to stack up rather than arrive one at a time. Owner age and succession come first for most independent brokers: the founder built the client relationships, the account handlers are loyal but not ready to own the business, and no family member wants to take on a regulated firm. A sale to a larger group is often the only exit that pays full value for the book.

Regulation is the second reason, and it has grown heavier in recent years. The FCA’s PS22/9 policy statement brought the Consumer Duty into force on 31 July 2023 for products open to sale or renewal and on 31 July 2024 for closed products. The Duty is built around four outcomes, which the FCA lists as products and services, price and value, consumer understanding, and consumer support. For a broker that means documented fair value assessments, evidence that customers understand what they buy, and monitoring of outcomes across the book. A ten-person broker has to produce the same kind of evidence as a firm with a dedicated compliance team, and many owners decide that the work is better absorbed by a group with central resources.

The third reason is the strength of demand from acquirers. US groups have kept buying in the UK. Gallagher announced its acquisition of UK personal lines broker Lifesure Group in September 2023, and Brown & Brown, which bought UK intermediary Global Risk Partners in 2022, added Scottish broker MacKay Corporate Insurance Brokers in 2026 as its entry into the Scotland market. At group level, Gallagher’s $13.45 billion purchase of AssuredPartners, announced on 9 December 2024 and completed on 18 August 2025, shows how much capital is chasing distribution. When the largest buyers keep expanding, competition for well-run regional books stays healthy.

What kinds of buyer will look at a UK broker?

Not every buyer values the same book in the same way. It helps to know which group you are talking to before the first meeting, because each one prices different things.

• Private equity backed consolidators. These groups buy regularly and have integration teams, standard legal documents and set views on earn-outs. They pay for recurring commission, clean data and a team that will stay. They usually want the book moved onto their systems and insurer panels over time, which can affect how your clients are serviced after the sale.
• US strategic brokers with UK platforms. Groups such as Gallagher and Brown & Brown buy through UK businesses they already own. They tend to look for commercial lines books that fit an existing regional office, specialist niches they lack, or a new geography, as the MacKay deal in Scotland illustrates.
• Networks and smaller regional brokers. A neighbouring broker or a member of a broker network may pay less headline value than a consolidator but offer more cash at completion and a lighter integration. For a small personal lines book this can be the better net outcome.
• Managing general agents and specialist wholesalers. A broker with a scheme, an affinity book or delegated authority may attract buyers who want the underwriting or product relationship as much as the clients.
• Management teams. A management buyout keeps the business independent and can suit an owner who wants continuity for staff. It usually means more of the price is deferred, because the team funds the deal from future profits.

Running a process that reaches more than one of these groups at once is how a seller sees the real range of value. A single conversation with one consolidator tells you what that buyer wants to pay, not what the book is worth.

How does FCA change in control approval work for an insurance broker?

Any person who decides to acquire or increase control of an FCA-authorised firm must notify the FCA and obtain approval before completing. For general insurance intermediaries, which the FCA classes as non-Directive firms, there is a single control band at 20% or more of the shares or voting power, in the firm or in its parent.

The FCA’s change in control guidance sets out the parts of the process that most affect a seller’s timetable:

• Who files. The buyer files, not you. The filing is a Section 178 notice, and where there are several controllers, such as a holding company, its parent and an individual ultimate owner, each one submits its own form.
• When the clock starts. The FCA has up to 60 working days from when it considers the notification complete. That period excludes any interruption while the FCA asks for more information. In practice the most common cause of delay is a notification that is treated as incomplete.
• What makes a notification incomplete. The FCA says a filing for more than 50% control is not complete until an adequate business plan is provided, and a filing that relies on a corporate controller not yet incorporated stays incomplete until that entity exists and its forms are in. A buyer setting up a new acquisition vehicle for your deal needs to form it early.
• What happens if a buyer completes early. The FCA states that acquiring control without prior approval is a criminal offence and can also lead to a fine. Your sale and purchase agreement should make FCA approval a condition of completion, with no transfer of shares before it arrives.
• Help before filing. The FCA runs a pre-application support service (PASS) that offers meetings before a notification is lodged, which can be useful for a first-time buyer or an unusual ownership structure.

Three practical points follow. First, the gap between signing and completion should be planned around the FCA period, not the other way round. Most sale agreements for brokers are signed and then completed once approval arrives, so you need to agree how the business is run in that gap, including who approves new hires, insurer changes and large expenses. Second, if the buyer is a regular acquirer, ask how its recent notifications have gone and whether its controller information is already on file; that can save weeks. Third, keep the FCA’s other approval regimes in mind. If the buyer plans to put its own people into Senior Manager roles at your firm after completion, those individuals need FCA approval before they take up the role, which is a separate application from the change in control.

What does a buyer’s diligence team check in a UK broker?

Diligence on a broker goes well beyond the accounts. Most buyers send a request list that falls into six areas. Preparing each one before you go to market shortens the process and reduces the risk of a price chip late in the deal.

Income quality and retention

Buyers want income split by insurer, by product line, by client and by account handler, usually for at least three years. They calculate client retention and income retention separately, because a book that keeps clients but loses premium through downgraded cover is weaker than it looks. They look for concentration: a single client, scheme or insurer that accounts for a large slice of commission will be flagged and may drive a retention-linked payment structure. If you earn fees as well as commission, show how fees are charged and disclosed to clients.

Insurer agencies and terms of business

Your terms of business agreements (TOBAs) with insurers decide whether you can keep placing business after the deal. Many contain clauses about change of ownership, and insurers can withdraw agencies or delegated authority. Buyers will read every TOBA and every binder agreement. If you hold delegated authority, expect questions about audit results, underwriting performance and whether the capacity provider will consent to the new owner.

Client money

Client money handling is one of the first areas an acquirer’s compliance team examines. They will want to see your client money arrangements, whether you operate a statutory trust or a non-statutory trust account, your reconciliations, any risk transfer agreements with insurers, and the reports of your client money audit. Breaks in reconciliations or late audits are among the issues most likely to slow a deal or lead to an indemnity request.

Consumer Duty and conduct evidence

Because the Duty applies to both open and closed products, buyers ask for your fair value assessments, product governance records, customer communications testing, vulnerable customer policy and the management information you use to monitor outcomes. They also review complaints logs, any Financial Ombudsman Service decisions, and breaches reported to the FCA. A firm that can produce a board report showing how it tracks the four outcomes is far easier to buy than one that relies on informal practice.

Appointed representatives

If you act as principal for appointed representatives, the buyer inherits your responsibility for them. The FCA’s guidance for principals requires notice at least 30 days before an AR appointment takes effect, a review of each AR at least every 12 months, an annual self-assessment signed off by the governing body and kept for at least 6 years, and annual complaints and revenue data for each AR through REP025. Buyers will ask for each of those records. Gaps here can lead a buyer to ask you to terminate some AR relationships before completion.

People and professional indemnity

The final area covers your team and your insurance. Buyers look at employment contracts for key account handlers and producers, especially restrictive covenants and notice periods, and they look at your professional indemnity cover, claims history and any known circumstances. They also check training and competence records for staff who give advice.

How are UK broker deals usually structured?

The headline price on a broker sale is only part of the story. What matters to a seller is how much arrives on completion, what conditions the rest depends on, and how long you need to stay.

• Cash at completion. Most offers pay a portion of the price on the day the shares transfer. The proportion varies with buyer type, size and how much risk the buyer sees in the book.
• Deferred consideration. A fixed amount paid at set dates after completion. It is less risky than an earn-out because it does not depend on performance, but it is still a credit exposure to the buyer.
• Earn-outs and retention mechanisms. Common in broking. Part of the price is recalculated after a period based on income retained from your clients. Read the definitions carefully: whether income is measured by client or by policy, how insurer moves made by the buyer are treated, and who controls servicing decisions in the earn-out period all change what you receive.
• Rollover equity. Some private equity buyers ask sellers to reinvest part of the proceeds in the buying group. This can add value at the group’s next sale but ties up money and is usually illiquid until then.
• Working capital and client money. The sale agreement will set a normal level of working capital and treat client money separately, since it does not belong to the business. Agreeing the method early avoids a dispute at completion.

When comparing offers, model each one on the same basis: guaranteed cash, probable deferred payments and the realistic range of earn-out outcomes, all after tax. Two offers with the same headline price can produce very different results once timing and conditions are taken into account.

How is the sale of a UK broker taxed?

For most owners selling shares in a trading broker, the key relief is Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR). HMRC guidance sets the rate at 18% for qualifying disposals from 6 April 2026, compared with 14% for disposals between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, and HMRC’s Capital Gains Manual confirms a lifetime limit of £1 million of gains, in place since 11 March 2020.

To qualify on a share sale, HMRC requires that you have been an employee or office holder of the company for at least 2 years, that the company’s main activities are trading rather than investment, and that it has been your personal company for at least 2 years. That means holding at least 5% of the shares and voting rights and being entitled to at least 5% of distributable profits and assets on a winding up, or of the proceeds if the company is sold. Sole traders and partners must have owned the business for at least 2 years.

Gains above the £1 million BADR limit are taxed at the normal Capital Gains Tax rates. HMRC’s rates page shows that from 6 April 2026 higher rate taxpayers pay 24% on gains, and basic rate taxpayers pay 18% on gains within the basic rate band and 24% above it. The annual exempt amount for 2026 to 2027 is £3,000.

Several points are specific to broker sales:

• Share sale or asset sale. Most broker deals are share sales, because the buyer wants the FCA permissions, TOBAs and client contracts to stay in the existing company. A share sale also keeps the BADR route simple for the seller. An asset sale, where the buyer takes only the book and staff, leaves the proceeds in the company and creates a second layer of tax when you extract them.
• Deferred and earn-out payments. The tax timing of consideration that is paid later, or depends on future income, can differ from the timing of the cash. Ask your tax adviser how each element of the offer will be taxed before you agree the structure, particularly if completion falls close to a tax year end.
• Stamp duty for the buyer. HMRC says a buyer of shares usually pays Stamp Duty or Stamp Duty Reserve Tax at 0.5%. It is the buyer’s cost, but it is part of the buyer’s total outlay and sometimes comes up in negotiation.
• Rollover equity. If you take shares in the buyer as part of the price, the tax treatment depends on how the exchange is structured. This is a specialist area and worth settling before heads of terms.

What happens to your staff when a UK broker is sold?

Account handlers and producers are the reason clients renew, so staff questions are part of the value conversation from the start.

In a share sale, the employing company stays the same, so employees remain employed by it on their existing contracts. The TUPE regulations are mainly relevant where the business moves to a different employer, for example in an asset sale or when a buyer later folds your company into its main trading entity. GOV.UK guidance explains that when TUPE applies, employees usually transfer to the new owner with their pay, conditions and length of service carried over, and that for TUPE to apply the identity of the employer must change.

Buyers will also want to know which staff hold key client relationships, whether they have enforceable restrictive covenants, and whether incentives are needed to keep them through the earn-out period. A seller who has already addressed these points, for example by updating contracts or agreeing a retention bonus pool with the buyer, protects both the deal and the people who built the book.

Timing of communication matters. Most sellers tell senior staff once heads of terms are agreed and the wider team close to completion. Clients are usually told after completion, often in a joint letter from seller and buyer, with the existing account handler remaining the main contact.

Professional indemnity, past advice and who carries the risk

A broker’s liabilities do not end when a policy is placed. Claims for negligent advice or a failure to arrange suitable cover can surface years later, and the sale agreement decides who bears them. The answer depends heavily on the deal structure.

In a share sale, the company continues and so does its history. The buyer inherits responsibility for past advice through the company, and will protect itself through warranties from you, specific indemnities for known issues, and sometimes a retention from the price held back for an agreed period. Expect detailed questions about your professional indemnity policy: its limit, excess, claims history, any notified circumstances, and whether cover is written on a claims made basis, which is typical for this kind of insurance. Buyers will also ask whether any past sales practices, such as add-on products or premium finance arrangements, could lead to future redress.

In an asset sale, the buyer takes the book and staff but leaves the old company behind with its past. The selling company then needs to keep run-off professional indemnity cover in place for claims that relate to work done before the sale, and the cost of that cover should be factored into your net proceeds. Some buyers will agree to keep the seller’s company on their own PI programme for a period; others will not, so this is worth settling at heads of terms.

Whatever the structure, the cleaner your complaints and claims record, the narrower the warranties and indemnities you will be asked to give, and the less of the price is likely to be held back.

How should a UK broker prepare in the year before a sale?

Preparation is where most of the value is protected. The following steps are practical and specific to broking:

• Clean the income data. Produce income by insurer, product, client and handler for three years, reconciled to the accounts, so buyers do not have to rebuild it.
• Review TOBAs and binders. List each agreement, its change of ownership terms and the relationship contact at each insurer.
• Bring client money records up to date. Make sure reconciliations are current and the latest audit report is clean.
• Document the Consumer Duty work. Gather fair value assessments, outcome monitoring and the most recent board report on the Duty in one place.
• Check AR oversight records. If you are a principal, confirm each annual AR review and self-assessment is on file.
• Confirm BADR eligibility. Check your shareholding, voting rights and office-holder status with your accountant well before the sale, so any issue can be fixed while the 2 year periods can still be met.
• Reduce key-person risk. Spread client relationships across the team and record how the business runs without you, since buyers price your reliance on any one person.

What makes one UK broker worth more than another?

Buyers start from maintainable earnings, but the multiple they apply moves with a handful of broker-specific factors. Knowing where your firm sits on each one tells you where to focus before a sale.

• Commercial versus personal lines. Commercial books with long-standing SME and mid-market clients are usually valued more highly than personal lines books, which are more exposed to price comparison sites and to the FCA’s pricing rules for home and motor renewals.
• Specialism. A niche the buyer cannot easily build, such as a trade scheme, an affinity partnership or a hard-to-place class of risk, attracts strategic interest well beyond the earnings it produces today.
• Insurer spread. A book placed with a broad panel is easier to integrate than one tied to a single insurer, and less exposed if that insurer changes appetite.
• Organic growth. Buyers look for new business won, not just renewals retained. A firm that can show a pipeline and a record of winning clients from competitors earns a premium over one that is slowly shrinking.
• Owner dependence. If the founder personally handles the largest accounts, buyers will either lower the price or move more of it into an earn-out. Handing relationships to account executives over a year or two before a sale is one of the most reliable ways to improve terms.
• Regulatory history. A clean record with the FCA and the Financial Ombudsman Service supports value; open complaints, past redress exercises or a skilled person review will be priced in.
• Systems and data. Brokers on a modern broking platform with clean client records are cheaper to integrate. Buyers notice when income has to be rebuilt from spreadsheets.

Lloyd’s, wholesale and MGA businesses: what changes in the sale?

Firms that place business at Lloyd’s, act as coverholders or run a managing general agency face extra steps. The capacity providers behind a binder or delegated authority agreement usually have consent rights over a change of ownership, and Lloyd’s maintains its own requirements for brokers and coverholders on top of FCA authorisation. In practice the buyer will want written comfort from each capacity provider before exchange, and the sale agreement should set out what happens if a binder is not renewed on its next anniversary.

These businesses are also judged on underwriting performance as well as commission. Expect buyers to ask for loss ratios by binder and year of account, audit reports from capacity providers, and the history of any profit commission. Strong results here can make an MGA or wholesale business far more valuable than a retail book of the same size, but weak loss ratios can end a deal outright.

Selling part of the business rather than all of it

Not every owner wants a full exit. Some sell a minority stake to a capital partner to fund acquisitions or buy out a retiring co-founder, while keeping control. Others sell a majority now and the remainder later. The FCA rules still apply: because general insurance intermediaries have a single 20% control band, any investor taking 20% or more of the shares or voting power, directly or through a parent, needs FCA approval before completion, even if it is a minority shareholder in commercial terms.

A partial sale also needs a shareholder agreement that covers the second stage: when the investor can exit, whether you can be required to sell alongside it, how the remaining shares will be valued, and who controls key decisions such as acquisitions and senior hires. If BADR matters to you, check how a two-stage sale affects your personal company status and the £1 million lifetime limit across both disposals.

What a typical UK broker sale looks like from start to finish

Every deal runs to its own timetable, but most broker sales pass through the same stages.

• Preparation. Income data, regulatory records, TOBAs and client money reports are gathered and checked. Tax advice on BADR is taken.
• Approach. A short anonymous summary goes to selected buyers. Those who sign an NDA receive a fuller information pack.
• Indicative offers. Buyers submit non-binding offers setting out price, structure, cash at completion, earn-out terms and their plans for staff.
• Heads of terms. You choose a preferred buyer and agree the main terms, usually with a period of exclusivity.
• Diligence and documents. The buyer’s financial, legal and compliance advisers work through the request list while lawyers negotiate the sale and purchase agreement, disclosure letter and any service agreement for you.
• Signing and FCA notification. The agreement is signed with FCA approval as a condition. The buyer files its Section 178 notices, and the FCA’s assessment period of up to 60 working days runs from the point the notification is complete.
• Completion and handover. Once approval arrives, the shares transfer, completion payments are made and client and insurer communications begin. Deferred and earn-out payments follow on the agreed dates.

Your role after completion

Most buyers of owner-managed brokers ask the seller to stay for a period, both to introduce clients and staff to the new owner and to support retention during any earn-out. Agree the terms of that role in writing before you sign: your title, responsibilities, salary, reporting line, how much control you keep over servicing your clients, and what happens to the earn-out if the buyer changes the business in ways that affect retention.

Restrictive covenants are standard. You will normally agree not to compete, solicit clients or poach staff for a set period after you leave. Make sure the scope is reasonable and matches the business you are selling, and remember that the same covenants protect the value of any earn-out you are still owed.

Common mistakes UK broker sellers make

• Talking to one buyer only. An approach from a consolidator is flattering, but without competing offers there is no way to judge whether the terms are fair.
• Comparing headline prices. An offer with a lower headline but more cash at completion can be worth more after tax and risk than a larger number spread over an earn-out.
• Leaving compliance gaps until diligence. Missing Consumer Duty evidence, late client money audits or incomplete AR reviews discovered by the buyer usually lead to price reductions, indemnities or delays.
• Ignoring the FCA timetable. Planning a completion date before the buyer’s notification is complete invites disappointment and can put pressure on you to accept changes late in the deal.
• Missing a BADR condition. A shareholding that has slipped below 5%, or an office that was resigned too early, can cost the relief. Check well in advance.
• Telling staff or clients too early. News of a possible sale can unsettle account handlers and invite competitors to approach your clients. Keep the circle small until terms are agreed.

Personal lines brokers: how the pricing rules change the buyer’s view

Owners of personal lines books face a specific question from buyers about renewal economics. The FCA’s pricing rules, in force from 1 January 2022, require that renewing home and motor customers are offered a price no higher than they would pay as a new customer. When it confirmed the measures, the FCA estimated the package would save consumers £4.2 billion over 10 years. For brokers that relied on renewal increases on long-standing customers, the rules changed the income profile of the book.

Buyers therefore look closely at how a personal lines book has performed since the rules began. They ask how commission and fees on renewals compare with new business, how retention moved after the change, and how the firm demonstrates fair value under the Consumer Duty on top of the pricing rules. A personal lines broker that can show stable income and retention through this period, with its fair value work documented, answers the buyer’s main concern before it is raised. Books where the income relied heavily on add-on products or fees will face harder questions about the value those products give customers.

Does it matter where in the UK your brokerage is based?

FCA authorisation and the change in control rules apply in the same way across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and HMRC’s capital gains rules, including BADR, are UK-wide. Location matters in other ways.

• Scotland. Scottish companies are registered at Companies House in the same way, but property, leases and some contract matters follow Scots law, so the buyer will usually instruct Scottish lawyers alongside its English advisers. Buyers have shown they value a foothold there; Brown & Brown described its 2026 purchase of MacKay Corporate Insurance Brokers as its entry into the Scotland market.
• Northern Ireland. Brokers with clients or insurer relationships in the Republic of Ireland need to show buyers how that business is written now that UK-authorised firms no longer have passporting rights into the EU. Any cross-border income that depends on an Irish-authorised partner should be documented.
• Wales and the English regions. For regional brokers, the main location factor is the buyer’s existing footprint. A consolidator with an office nearby can integrate your book quickly and may pay more for the fit; one with no local presence may want you and your team to become its regional hub.

What to ask a buyer before you agree heads of terms

The answers to these questions often matter as much as the price, and they are easier to obtain before exclusivity than after.

• How much of the price will be paid at completion, and how is the rest secured?
• If there is an earn-out, how is retained income defined, and how are client or insurer moves initiated by the buyer treated?
• Has the buyer and its controllers filed FCA change in control notifications recently, and is its controller information current?
• Will clients keep their account handler, and will the book be moved to a different insurer panel or broking platform? If so, when?
• What happens to staff roles, benefits and office locations over the first two years?
• Will the buyer ask you to reinvest part of the proceeds, and on what terms?
• What is your role after completion, and how long does the buyer expect you to stay?

How CT Acquisitions runs a UK insurance broker sale

We start with a review of your income data, insurer relationships and regulatory records, so we can show you which buyer groups are likely to value your book highest and which issues they will raise. We then prepare a confidential information pack and approach a selected list of buyers from our 500+ network, which can include consolidators, US strategic brokers with UK platforms, regional brokers and capital partners backing management teams. Every buyer signs an NDA before receiving anything that identifies your firm.

We run those conversations in parallel so offers arrive close together and can be compared on the same basis: cash at completion, deferred and earn-out terms, rollover requests, your role after the sale and the buyer’s plans for staff and clients. Once you choose a buyer, we coordinate diligence, keep the FCA change in control filing on the critical path, and work with your solicitor and tax adviser so the final structure protects your BADR position. No fee to you on buy-side introductions; sell-side mandates are paid on success at closing.

Frequently asked questions: selling UK insurance broker businesses in 2026

What multiple should I expect for my UK insurance broker business in 2026?

Multiples for UK brokers depend on EBITDA size, binder and delegated authority income, and client retention. The EBITDA multiples section above sets out the bands by size, from founder brokerages up to national platforms. Expect part of the price as deferred consideration or an earn-out, so compare offers on cash at completion.

Which PE platforms and strategic acquirers are actively acquiring UK insurance broker businesses in 2026?

The named-buyers section above lists the consolidators and PE sponsors active in UK broking as of mid-2026, with ownership and recent deals. The UK buyer pool typically includes (a) the UK-domiciled PE platforms; (b) cross-border US or UK strategics running international rollup theses; (c) listed-company strategics on London Stock Exchange (LSE / AIM); and (d) the global PE platforms (Apax, Cinven, EQT, Bridgepoint, etc.) running cross-border platforms.

How does the FCA change in control process affect my sale timeline?

The FCA change in control section above sets out the approvals. A buyer must notify the FCA under section 178 of FSMA 2000 and get approval before completion, and FSMA gives the FCA 60 working days to assess a complete notice. Starting regulator-readiness work on CASS 5, SMCR and fair value files before Heads of Terms removes most timing risk.

What tax-arbitrage structuring is available to UK insurance broker sellers in 2026?

The tax section above covers the UK levers. The main ones are Business Asset Disposal Relief, which HMRC charges at 18% on up to £1 million of lifetime qualifying gains for disposals from 6 April 2026, share-for-share rollover under sections 135 and 136 TCGA 1992 for equity rolled into a buyer, the Substantial Shareholding Exemption for corporate sellers, and Employee Ownership Trust sales. Take UK tax advice before Heads of Terms, because structure decides net proceeds.

What recent 2024-2026 dated comparable transactions in the UK insurance broker should I know about?

The recent-transactions section above lists dated UK broker transactions from 2024 to 2026 with named buyer, named target, approximate consideration where disclosed, and source citations. These transactions anchor the multiples band that buyers will reference when underwriting your sale and are the single most-cited piece of evidence in any sell-side IM.

Does CT Acquisitions advise on cross-border M&A from the UK?

Yes, CT Acquisitions is a US advisory firm working both sides of the table, with active cross-border deal flow into the UK. The introductory conversation maps your trailing-12-month revenue and EBITDA in £ GBP to the band-specific buyer pool, identifies the 18-24 month pre-sale workstream priorities specific to the UK insurance broker, walks through the named buyers actively acquiring in the UK at your size band, and pre-positions the tax-arbitrage outcome that determines your net-of-tax proceeds.

For the full national process beyond your state, see our guide on how to sell your insurance agency. Before going to market, start with our insurance agency business valuation guide to place your multiple.

What is insurance broker consolidation?

It is the purchase of independent insurance brokers by larger groups, usually backed by private equity, that combine many smaller books into one platform. In the UK the most active consolidators include Ardonagh, Howden, PIB, Jensten and Clear. The groups gain scale with insurers and shared compliance and back-office functions. Sellers gain an exit and often stay on through a transition period.

Who are the big 3 insurance brokers?

Globally, the three largest insurance brokers by revenue are Marsh McLennan, Aon and WTW, based on their published annual results. In the UK, the Insurance Times Top 50 Brokers ranking also places Howden, Ardonagh, Gallagher and Lockton near the top. Most independent broker sales go to mid-market consolidators such as PIB, Jensten and Clear rather than to the global three.