Barbican eyes new opportunities ahead

Barbican Managing Agency (Barbican) is continuing to consolidate its position in what it states is a rather challenging time for the market.

Iain Bremner, managing director of Barbican, said that growth for any managing agency was challenging. However, Barbican would be seeking to grow its corporate partnerships within the agency’s capitalisation base. The agency currently has some significant third-party capital providers that support it, but it is keen to develop its investor base further.

“From those partnerships, we might be able to spawn new opportunities,” Bremner told Monte Carlo Today. “It’s a progressive education in a way, bringing these investors into Lloyd’s. We’re building relationships in difficult market conditions, but we feel that it’s one way to grow.

“It’s not unique, but Barbican has been very successful in establishing special purpose arrangements (SPAs).

“Not only have we helped to establish these SPAs, but we have evolved one into a full syndicate. Until you’ve participated in the full life cycle of the structure you don’t know all the nuances involved in being an SPA manager.

“That’s very attractive to investors and the fact that we’ve become known as an effective SPA manager has opened up numerous opportunities for Barbican,” he said.

Bremner added that Barbican was working with clients in a number of different territories and sectors to create long-term and stable partnerships that could generate business attractive to the Lloyd’s market.

Barbican was created a decade ago and, Bremner said, the agency had shown that it had the stability and entrepreneurial spirit to continue. He pointed out that Barbican’s capacity under management had increased fivefold since launch, and that there was still growth potential ahead.

Barbican also announced that it has appointed a new non-executive director. Henry Johnson will join the managing agency at the start of October, subject to regulatory approval. Johnson is the former chief actuary at Lloyd’s.

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