CVC funds to acquire majority stake in Dale Underwriting Partners

Dale Underwriting Partners has agreed a strategic partnership with CVC, which will see the global private markets manager invest in Dale to provide the capital to replace the current third-party capital providers and support business growth.

As a result, CVC funds will acquire a majority stake in the business. Dale said the investment “will secure a large pool of long-term stable capital to fund Dale’s growth, capitalising on the competitive global position of the Lloyd’s market and the Dale team’s expertise and strong position”.

Dale operates through Lloyd’s Syndicate 1729 and is a specialist provider of insurance and reinsurance lines across six core classes. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in Q4 2023 or Q1 2024.

Dale said CVC funds have extensive prior experience of investing in and growing regulated financial services and insurance companies globally, including in the Lloyd’s market through investments into Brit Insurance and RiverStone International.

Duncan Dale, founder and chief executive of Dale, said, “We are excited to be partnering with CVC to back Dale’s next phase of growth. We have an aligned vision on where we would like to take the business and believe they will be a great partner given their long-term investment horizon and approach to supporting us to create value.”

Martin Iacoponi, managing director at CVC, added: “The specialty insurance and Lloyd’s markets are attractive markets for patient capital investors like CVC funds and a focus for our financial services strategy. We have been impressed by Duncan and his team’s approach in building a high-quality player over the last decade. We are very pleased to partner with the Dale team and look forward to supporting the business with CVC funds’ capital and our experience to help them grow and develop further.”