Compre Group

The Opportunity

Compre is a leading insurance specialist in the acquisition and subsequent management of legacy insurance portfolio books.

The business manages a wide range of insurance classes, from marine through to motor, with operations in Finland, Germany, Malta, Switzerland, Bermuda and the UK.

CBPE invested in Compre in 2015 at a time when there was a change in regulation with the introduction of Solvency II. This fuelled an increase in the demand for legacy services as underwriters capital requirements were increasing.

The Strategy

Balance sheet solvency capital [allocation] and efficient claims management are important value drivers for Compre, which is a high growth business continually acquiring legacy insurance portfolios.

During our investment period, CBPE supported the development of the business platform, helping transform the approach to originating, triaging and executing of acquisitions. In addition to revisiting capital efficiency to help aid funding growth, which included a comprehensive restructuring of the Group’s European corporate structure.

CBPE also worked with management to enhance the senior team with the introduction of several new and experienced Board members. This included creating a new M&A team and in-sourcing specialist functions like actuarial support who could provide quick feedback on pricing portfolio acquisitions and solvency capital structuring.

The Result

Under CBPE’s ownership, Compre was able to complete and integrate 21 acquisitions over five years resulting in a fourfold increase in Net Tangible Asset Value (NTAV) to £160m.

We realised our investment in Compre in November 2020 in a sale to the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and private equity fund Cinven, generating a 2.7x return. The business has continued to grow at a fast pace.