An EY report highlights a notable rise in publicly disclosed M&A deals in the UK insurance sector, increasing from 54 in H1 2023 to 94 in H1 2024. The total deal value also surged from £400 mn to £900 mn.
EY’s financial services M&A report shows UK banks, insurers, and asset managers disclosed 175 deals in the first half of this year, the highest in over a decade.
The total disclosed deal value for the UK BFSI industry rose year-on-year, from £5 bn in H1 2023 to £6.9 bn in H1 2024.
Despite the increase in deal value, UK banking deals fell from 39 in H1 2023 to 34 in H1 2024, with the overall disclosed deal value rising from £3.2 bn in H1 2023 to £5.5 bn in H1 2024.
The UK wealth and asset management industry saw a decline in publicly disclosed deals, dropping from 66 in H1 2023 to 47 in H1 2024.
The total disclosed deal value plummeted from £1.5 bn in H1 2023 to £500 mn in H1 2024.
EY’s report also noted an increase in non-UK firms acquiring UK targets, rising from 34 in H1 2023 to 48 in H1 2024, with the total disclosed deal value increasing from £200 mn in H1 2023 to £1.3 bn in H1 2024.
Tom Groom, UK Financial Services Strategy and Transactions Leader at EY, commented that signs of economic recovery in the UK have boosted market confidence. The UK financial services industry recorded its highest half-year volume of M&A activity in over a decade.
Deloitte has presented new trends in insurance mergers and acquisitions for 2024-2025, focusing on how economic, regulatory, and strategic factors might shape the future insurance sector.
Banking woes and rising interest rates accompanied a dip in insurance mergers and acquisitions last year. But as interest rates settle and sellers make peace with the passing of pandemic-era valuations, some of the variability around valuations seems poised to stabilize, encouraging an uptick in transaction interest.
Signs of economic recovery in the UK have lifted market confidence, and the UK financial services industry recorded its highest half-year volume of M&A activity in over a decade
Tom Groom, UK Financial Services Strategy and Transactions Leader at EY
Groom emphasized that while short-term increases in deal volume and value are significant, a long-term view is essential to understand the bigger picture.
He noted that despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and potential government changes, an improving economic outlook could further boost M&A activity throughout 2024 as firms seek to innovate and grow in a strengthening environment.
A slowdown in life insurance and annuity premium sales, paired with a premium outflow issue, means insurers should think about how they reposition themselves.
Insurance companies may increasingly shift from life and annuity (L&A) products to investment and wealth management services.
Public insurers could opt for divestitures to mitigate the financial impact of new “long-duration targeted improvements” accounting standards. These standards affect the accounting of long-term insurance contracts.
