Belgian insurer mulls UK takeover after failed Direct Line bid #UKFinance

Belgian insurance giant Ageas is open to making further takeover bids for British companies after a failed attempt to snap up Direct Line earlier this year.

The Brussels-listed firm is eyeing more growth in the UK market and signalled its ambitions by making two approaches to buy FTSE 250 rival Direct Line, with the latter worth £3.2bn.

Ageas abandoned its takeover attempt in March after Direct Line’s board unanimously rejected the swoop as “highly opportunistic”.

“If there is an interesting opportunity we will look at it,” Hans de Cuyper, Ageas’ chief executive, told The Sunday Times. He declined to say which specific companies he might target.

His comments come shortly after Saga, the London-listed financial services and travel provider, confirmed it was in talks with Ageas for a deal involving its insurance arm.

Last month, Ageas was put forward as a possible bidder for Direct Line rival Esure after reports that its private equity owner Bain Capital may put the business up for sale.

In De Cuyper’s four-year tenure as CEO, Ageas’ UK arm has refocused on so-called personal lines products like car, travel and pet insurance. The firm offloaded most of its commercial lines business in 2022.

Ageas employs around 2,600 staff across four UK offices. It is the sixth-largest car insurer in Britain.

De Cuyper said the firm’s UK sales jumped 50 per cent in the first half of 2024, driven equally by rising insurance prices and customer growth.

He said customer growth had been boosted by Ageas’ bid for Direct Line giving the company more brand awareness.

“The brand came in the news because of the Direct Line initiative and now we see the business benefits from that,” De Cuyper said.

Ageas is one of Europe’s biggest insurers with a stock market capitalisation of €8.99bn (£7.5bn). Its largest shareholder is French bank BNP Paribas, which bought a nine per cent stake in April.

BNP acquired its holding from the firm’s former top investor, Chinese conglomerate and Wolverhampton Wanderers owner Fosun, which had a 10 per cent stake.