Towergate acquires Arista

Towergate Group has acquired commercial insurance provider Arista Insurance, a majority-held subsidiary of Canopius Group.

Specialising in property, liability and motor insurance, Arista will retain its current brand and identity. It will remain located across its eight regional sites which fits with its strategy of providing local relationship management.

“Arista is a high-quality MGA business, with a well-defined regional distribution network, which fits well within the Towergate Group strategy of acquiring specialist businesses with strong growth potential,” said Towergate.

The acquisition enables Towergate to secure new underwriting capability, capacity options and gives it a platform from which to widen its existing underwriting relationships with its core regional broking markets.

Nick Watson will join the business immediately as new chief executive officer.

He was previously Towergate change director and prior to this was commercial director in corporate markets at Aviva.

Charles Earle, previously Arista chief executive officer, will remain in the business becoming the non-executive chairman.

Mark Hodges, Towergate chief executive officer, commented: “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Arista Insurance, reinforcing our commitment to acquire high-quality businesses. Arista is a significant acquisition for us. It has scale, specialism and leading positions in its chosen markets and we think it is an excellent fit for our underwriting business.

“Arista will provide the group with a platform to widen our existing underwriting proposition which will also benefit our existing broking relationships. I look forward to working with the Arista team.”

Michael Watson, chairman and chief executive officer of Canopius, added: “This is a very positive step for the Arista team and its broker partners. Towergate has a broad established business which provides an excellent environment for Arista to grow and offer an enhanced proposition to its clients. Canopius will continue to provide capacity for Arista, and we will look to further develop the relationship between Towergate and our UK specialty business unit.

“We congratulate the Arista team on their achievements to date and have every confidence in their future success as part of the Towergate Group.”