Ariel Re, a global reinsurance firm with offices in Bermuda, London and Hong Kong, has announced that it has secured US$270 million (about SG$363.18 million) in capital from five new institutional and family office investors.
The new capital will be used to support growth opportunities in 2023, the firm said.
Ariel Re, which is backed by Pelican Ventures and JC Flowers & Co, underwrites five focused lines of business – property catastrophe, cyber, marine and specialty, professional lines, and clean energy – through its Lloyd’s platform, Syndicate 1910. In addition to the capital from new investors, Pelican Ventures and JC Flowers have increased their underwriting capital commitments to support Ariel Re’s growth.
In August 2022, Lloyd’s launched London Bridge 2 PCC Ltd. (LB2), a protected cell company, to reduce complexity and give greater flexibility to global investors participating in the Lloyd’s market. As part of this capital raise, Ariel Re secured US$170 million through LB2, becoming the first sponsor to raise capital through the structure.
“Given our proven expertise in lines of business undergoing significant change, such as property catastrophe and cyber, Ariel Re is well-positioned to help investors access what we believe to be very attractive underwriting opportunities,” said Ryan Mather, CEO of Ariel Re. “While many carriers are pulling out of these risks, we are able to grow backed by investors who understand the nuances of a cyclical reinsurance marker.
“We are delighted that part of our new funding is the first successful example of investors coming to Lloyd’s via the innovative LB2 structure; it was more efficient than ever to deploy meaningful capacity in Syndicate 1910.”
“I’m delighted that Ariel Re chose the LB2 structure to facilitate delivery of this new capital into the Lloyd’s market, a key deliverable of the Future at Lloyd’s strategy,” said Burkhard Keese, chief financial officer and chief operating officer at Lloyd’s of London. “We set the London Bridge PPC vehicle up to be as flexible and responsive as possible with the oversight of the UK’s PRA. We now believe we have an onshore UK structure that can rival any of the established offshore vehicles in other jurisdictions. We hope that Arial Re will be the first of many to use LB2.”
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