Ariel Re eyes ‘very attractive’ opportunities in 2023 with $270m capital raise

Multi-line reinsurer  Ariel Re has secured $270 million of new capital from investors as it looks to take advantage of “very attractive underwriting opportunities” in the market at a time when many carriers are pulling out of certain lines of business, such as property cat and cyber.

Ariel Re is backed by Pelican Ventures and JC Flowers & Co and underwrites five focused lines of business - property catastrophe, cyber, marine and specialty, professional lines and clean energy - through its Lloyd’s platform, Syndicate 1910.

The new capital comes from five new institutional and family office investors, while Pelican and JC Flowers have increased their underwriting capital commitments to support Ariel Re’s growth in 2023.

As part of the capital raise, Ariel Re secured $170 million through Lloyd’s London Bridge 2 PCC (LB2) – making it the first sponsor to raise capital through the LB2 structure. The protected cell company LB2 was established in August 2022 to reduce complexity and give greater flexibility for global investors to participate in the Lloyd’s market.

“Given our proven expertise in lines of business undergoing significant change, such as property catastrophe and cyber, Ariel Re is well-positioned to help investors access what we believe to be very attractive underwriting opportunities,” said Ryan Mather (pictured), chief executive officer at Ariel Re. “While many carriers are pulling out of these risks, we are able to grow backed by investors who understand the nuances of a cyclical reinsurance market. We are delighted that part of our new funding is the first successful example of investors coming to Lloyd’s via the innovative LB2 structure; it was more efficient than ever to deploy meaningful capacity in Syndicate 1910.”

Burkhard Keese, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, Lloyd’s of London, said: “I’m delighted that Ariel Re chose the LB2 structure to facilitate delivery of this new capital into the Lloyd’s market, a key deliverable of the Future at Lloyd’s strategy. We set the London Bridge PCC vehicle up to be as flexible and responsive as possible and with oversight of the UK’s PRA, we now believe we have an onshore UK structure that can rival any of the established offshore vehicles in other jurisdictions. We hope that Ariel Re will be the first of many to use LB2.”

Howden Tiger Capital Markets & Advisory, the capital markets arm of reinsurance broker Howden Tiger, acted as exclusive financial advisor to Ariel Re. Willkie Farr & Gallagher acted as Ariel Re’s exclusive legal advisor. Hampden Agencies acted as Lloyd’s Members’ Agent for the 5 Corporate Members and Artex Capital Solutions provided the Insurance Management Services for the London Bridge 2 Cells involved in these transactions.

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