Starpeak Insurance Solutions Reports 18% GWP Growth and 180,000 Sales Milestone

Starpeak Insurance Solutions has reported an 18% increase in Gross Written Premium for the first half of the year, reaching £8.4 million. For MGAs and specialist brokers, this growth demonstrates the resilience of niche commercial and leisure lines, particularly as the firm leverages a recent private equity-backed management buyout to scale its digital distribution and product appetite.

What was announced

Starpeak reported a strong performance for the first half of the year, with sales volumes increasing by 14% alongside the double-digit growth in Gross Written Premium. These results follow the completion of a management buyout (MBO) backed by the private equity investor August Equity. The capital injection is intended to support a strategy focused on accelerating growth through technology investment, product expansion, and targeted M&A opportunities.

During this period, the business focused heavily on product development and underwriting flexibility. Specifically, Starpeak expanded the underwriting appetite for its Caterers product, allowing it to cover a wider range of risks within the sector. The firm also enhanced its Tradesman proposition to improve its competitive position in the micro-SME market. On the digital front, the company launched a new website for SportsCover Direct, its long-standing brand dedicated to the sport and travel insurance markets.

The company also secured a new distribution channel through a partnership with CIMSPA (the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity). As a Benefit Partner, Starpeak now provides eligible CIMSPA members with access to specialist insurance at preferential rates. This move has helped the business reach a milestone of 180,000 customers, strengthening its footprint in the professional sports and physical activity sectors through a tailored digital proposition.

"We have made a strong start to the year, delivering double-digit growth while continuing to invest in the products, brands and technology that will support our next phase. This performance reflects the work of teams across the business."

Andy Brownsell, CEO of Starpeak Insurance Solutions

The companies involved

Starpeak Insurance Solutions is a specialist insurance provider that focuses on niche commercial and leisure sectors. The firm operates several brands, including SportsCover Direct and Protectivity, providing tailored coverage for risks that are often underserved by generalist carriers. The company’s model relies on combining specialist underwriting knowledge with a digital-first distribution strategy, allowing for high-volume processing of specialist risks.

August Equity LLP is the private equity firm that backed the recent management buyout of Starpeak. August Equity typically invests in UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly those in the service and technology sectors that demonstrate potential for buy-and-build strategies. The partnership with CIMSPA, the professional body for the United Kingdom's sport and physical activity sector, provides Starpeak with direct access to a regulated pool of professionals, including personal trainers and sports coaches, who require specific liability and professional indemnity protections.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has previously tracked the evolution of Starpeak’s brand portfolio and its efforts to modernize its market presence. In October 2024, the publication reported that Protectivity Unveils New Visual Identity to Propel Future Growth. This rebranding of the Protectivity arm was a precursor to the broader corporate momentum seen in the H1 results, signaling a concerted effort by the management team to refresh their digital assets and visual identity following the August Equity-backed buyout. The focus on visual and digital identity aligns with the company's stated goal of using technology to drive double-digit growth across its specialist lines.

What this means from an insurtech perspective

Starpeak’s performance highlights the continued strength of the MGA model when applied to highly fragmented niche markets like catering and sports. For the wider industry, the 18% GWP growth suggests that specialized, tech-led distribution is currently outperforming generalist commercial lines in terms of momentum. The expansion of underwriting appetite within specific products like Caterers indicates a move toward more sophisticated risk selection, likely enabled by better data utilization at the point of quote. As Starpeak moves into an M&A phase, incumbent specialist brokers may face increased pressure to modernize legacy core systems or risk losing market share to more digitally-fluent competitors who can offer "preferential rates" through seamless professional body integrations.