Leading international law firm RPC has advised the management team of Asta Capital Limited (Asta) on the sale of Asta to Davies Group Limited (Davies).
Asta is the leading third party managing agency at Lloyd’s providing a range of solutions to Lloyd’s and non-Lloyd’s business across the insurance life cycle, and is a key contributor to market innovations from formalisation of the syndicate framework to the development of the Lloyd’s Syndicate-in-a-box framework.
Davies is a leading specialist professional services and technology business serving the insurance and highly regulated markets. It recently concluded a deal for BC Partners to take a majority stake in Davies.
The senior management team, including Asta Chief Executive Officer Julian Tighe and Chief Underwriting Officer Simon Norton, will remain with Asta following the sale and will invest in Davies. Julian and Simon will join Davies’ Global Executive Leadership Team, and Managing Director Lorraine Harfitt and Chief Financial Officer David Hunt will join Davies’ Senior Leadership Team.
Tighe says: “This was a hugely important deal for Asta, Davies and our respective clients and employees. We were delighted to work with James and David, whom we have known and worked with for some time.”
Norton says: “We’re delighted with the deal. It was important to work with advisers with a deep understanding of insurance market transactions and who are expert at looking after management teams in the market.”
The RPC team was led by RPC’s insurance market deals lead James Mee and private equity specialist David Wallis.
Mee says: “It was a great joy to work with Julian, Simon, Lorraine, David and the team on this important deal for them and everyone involved. I’ve known Julian, Simon and colleagues for a number of years, having been fortunate to act for Asta and for a number of their clients over the years. It has been wonderful to see their business grow.
“Management advisory in the insurance market is a core and substantial part of our practice and we’re immensely grateful for the trust the Asta team placed in us. Helping them achieve this milestone and their ambition is a real thrill.”
