Topsail Re in joint venture with Bishop Street to drive MGA growth
Topsail Re has formed a joint venture with Bishop Street Underwriters, a RedBird Capital Partners portfolio company, aimed at accelerating the growth of managing general agents.
As part of the partnership, Topsail Re will co-invest in Bishop Street and provide capacity to MGAs and programme administrators within the Bishop Street ecosystem.
In addition to the joint venture, Topsail Re CEO David Johnson and chief strategy officer & executive vice president Christopher Miller will join the Bishop Street board of directors, and Tom Gubash, managing director of Topsail Capital Partners, will join as a board observer.
Topsail Re said the investment will further assist with fostering new primary, fronting, and reinsurance carrier relationships for existing programme expansion, new product and programme launches, and underwriting team lift-outs.
David Johnson, Topsail Re CEO, said: “Bishop Street is creating an exceptional platform to support a diverse range of partners with necessary underwriting and distribution functions as well as capital across specialty lines. We are pleased to work with Bishop Street to leverage our combined scale to provide additional capacity for MGAs, and drive organic growth opportunities.”
Tom Gubash added: “For Topsail Re, this partnership with Bishop Street and RedBird is in direct response to two key factors: our existing partners consistently requesting strategic growth capital in addition to our risk-capital (reinsurance) capacity solutions, as well as our desire to continually evolve alongside our clients by expanding the breadth of our capabilities and partner-first solutions.”
Chad Levine, CEO of Bishop Street, said: “We are excited to partner with Topsail Re. From the initial launch of Bishop Street, we have been focused on utilising capacity as a strategic asset for our platform partners. Preferred capacity is a critical enabler for MGAs and this investment supports organic growth at existing MGA programs and the launch of new programs. Topsail Re is the ideal first partner for Bishop Street as we continue working with MGAs in the specialty P&C commercial space and is a clear differentiator in the marketplace.”
Chad Weber, president, added: “Combining RedBird’s strong track record building companies in and around the insurance industry, like Constellation Affiliated Partners, as well as their network and expertise in the financial services sector with Bishop Street’s multi-boutique platform model creates a really unique partner in this space that can offer benefits of scale in addition to individualized support for the business. The Topsail Re team recognized the potential of what we are building, and we are excited to work together to capitalize on this specialized segment.”
Mike Zabik, partner of RedBird Capital Partners, commented: “The combination of Bishop Street and Topsail Re is a unique approach to the MGA buy-and-build strategy. Now, more than ever, it is important to marry strategic business building capabilities with deep capacity relationships. The Topsail Re partnership will enable day-one strategic value to prospective Bishop Street acquisitions, as well as long-term value for Bishop Street and its acquired platforms for tuck-ins, new programme launches, and team lift-outs.”
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