Lloyd’s of London insurer Canopius favours IPO in private equity exit

The private equity owners of Canopius plan to list the Lloyd’s of London insurer on the UK stock market next year, City AM has learned.

A consortium led by US investor Centerbridge Partners is leaning towards an IPO rather than sale as part of its review into exit options for Canopius, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The person added that Centerbridge hopes Canopius will debut on the London Stock Exchange next year at a low single-digit billion-pound valuation.

The group has hired investment bankers at Fenchurch Advisory Partners to work on the process, the person said.

Centerbridge and Canopius declined to comment. Fenchurch did not respond to a request for comment.

News of the review emerged this summer and comes after Canopius ditched previous IPO preparations in 2021 due to volatile markets.

A float at Canopius’ desired valuation would be a boost to London’s beleaguered stock market, which is headed for one of its worst ever years for new listings.

Just 14 firms have floated in the capital this year, with the largest being Raspberry Pi in an IPO that valued the computer firm at a modest £542m.

However, bankers are hoping for a recovery in 2025. French media giant Canal+ is set to list next week at a £6bn-plus valuation, while several other firms are readying multibillion-pound IPOs that could take place next year.

Since its foundation in 2003, Canopius has grown to become one of Lloyd’s biggest insurers. As well as the City, it has offices in the US, Bermuda, Singapore, Australia and China.

The speciality and property and casualty insurer was sold by Japan’s Sompo to the Centerbridge-led consortium for £737m in 2018. Canopius’ other backers include South Korean firm Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance.

Canopius more than doubled its pretax profit to $329m last year, from $163m in 2022. Its insurance contract written premium rose 23 per cent to $1.84bn for the first half of 2024.