Brit is an international general insurance and reinsurance group specialising in commercial insurance. It was acquired by Fairfax Financial in May 2015.
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
Key people | Richard Ward, (Chairman), Martin Thompson,(Group Chief Executive Officer) |
| Products | Insurance, Reinsurance |
| Revenue | £1,070.5 million (2014)[1] |
| £162.6 million (2014)[1] | |
| £139.0 million (2014)[1] | |
| Parent | Fairfax Financial |
| Website | www.britinsurance.com |
History
The Company was founded as Benfield & Rea Investment Trust in 1995.[2] In 1996 it acquired Stewart Syndicates Limited and in 1999 it went on to buy Wren PLC.[2] In 1999 it ceased to be an investment trust and relisted as Brit Insurance Holdings PLC.[2]
Achilles Netherlands Holdings B.V., a company formed by funds managed by private equity firms Apollo Management and CVC Capital Partners, agreed to acquire the firm for £888 million in October 2010.[3] Its offer was declared unconditional in March 2011 and following this Brit Insurance was removed from the FTSE 250 Index.[4]
On 18 June 2012 Brit announced the sale of its subsidiary Brit Insurance Limited (BIL) to RiverStone Group.[5] The company was subject to an initial public offering in March 2014.[6]
The company was acquired by Fairfax Financial in May 2015.[7]
Operations
Brit has a diversified portfolio of businesses both in terms of geographic location and types of business. Business is written through Lloyd's Syndicate 2987.[5]