Insurance SPAC boss: London loves a bad headline – but we’re the best in the world
London loves a “bad headline” and should instead embrace its role as the “global centre” of insurance expertise, the boss of a listed acquisition vehicle has claimed, as he prepares to debut a new insurance firm on the public markets this month.
Will Allen, the boss of Financial Acquisitions Corp, is set to test investor confidence this month as his listed acquisition vehicle eyes a merger with London Innovation Underwriters, a private insurance start-up it founded itself.
Financial Acquisitions Corp is set to hold a shareholder meeting on the 14th November to get the go ahead for the merger, which will look to raise £300m to channel into the historic Lloyd’s of London insurance market.
The move would bring a new name onto the public markets after a barren period for London listings and a troubling time for stock market debuts.
However, Allen said London was the right home for the firm as the centre of the global insurance industry.
“London loves to have bad headlines right. The reality is, London is the global centre of insurance expertise,” he told Morning Wire.
“It has the best and largest specialty insurance market and oldest in the world. What Canada has done [in reforming regulation] – all of these things come together to actually provide attractive entry points for institutional investors into the Lloyds market.”
The new venture will aim to give retail investors and a broader range of institutional backers access to the commercial insurance market in London, at a time as prices and profits are booming in the sector.
War in Gaza and a hurricane in Mexico have also sent prices rocketing this month and pushed up potential returns in the industry, Allen added.
“The geopolitical background is always difficult, but I don’t think anyone would debate that insurance prices tend to be higher in times of geopolitical uncertainty,”Allen said.
“The horrible events in Israel or Mexico – all of it just creates volatility for the market.”
Financial Acquisitions Corp’s merger is unusual as it founded London Innovation Underwriters itself, rather than floating as a SPAC and then seeking out a potential target. The firm first unveiled the plans for the merger in June this year.