Bridgehaven Europe Holdings has completed its acquisition of SureStone Insurance DAC after securing all necessary regulatory approvals.
The deal gives the UK-based hybrid risk carrier a licensed platform inside the European Union as it looks to scale its managing general agent (MGA) partnerships.
Bridgehaven positions itself as a risk‑taking hybrid insurer focused on commercial and specialty lines. By adding Dublin-headquartered SureStone, Bridgehaven said that it gains an EU insurer able to write business for MGAs and connect them with reinsurance capacity under a single model.
SureStone will operate as Bridgehaven’s European hub and will continue to write commercial and specialty lines. It will use its existing property and casualty licences while developing additional specialty classes to support growth in Ireland and across continental Europe.
Bridgehaven said that it plans to bolster SureStone’s management team with additional staff and technical resources. The aim is to support the transition into the group and to roll out Bridgehaven’s operating model in local EU markets without disrupting existing activities.
The move forms part of Bridgehaven’s strategy to build a more connected insurance ecosystem for delegated authority business. The firm is targeting long-term arrangements that link MGAs with reinsurers, with Bridgehaven assuming risk and underwriting oversight between the two.
That strategy has already been set out in the UK market, where Bridgehaven Specialty recently joined the Association of British Insurers as a hybrid carrier providing MGAs with longer-term capacity and reinsurers with diversification opportunities.
Paul Jewell (pictured above), CEO of Bridgehaven, said: “Completing this acquisition is an important step in building a truly pan-European platform for our MGA partners. SureStone’s transformation allows us to deliver Bridgehaven’s unique hybrid model across much of the EU, linking MGAs to quality reinsurance capacity, whilst ensuring underwriting discipline and long-term value creation.”
He added that the deal is intended to support further expansion with existing and new MGAs that require an EU-authorised solution. “The acquisition will fire a new phase of growth. This is about creating opportunity, confidence and capability for MGAs that need an EU solution that is both entrepreneurial and robust.”
The transaction comes amid uneven insurance M&A activity across Europe, where recent quarters have seen consolidators and private equity investors focus on smaller and mid-sized intermediaries, including MGAs and digital brokers. Dealmakers are targeting distribution and specialty capability in markets such as Iberia, the Nordics and DACH.
At the same time, MGA funding and ownership structures are shifting, with disclosed cyber MGA funding lower in 2025 and a growing number of strategic acquisitions and roll-ups as sponsors and carriers seek scale and diversification. European markets have become a focus for MGAs targeting mid-market and specialty lines.
