Pen Underwriting has acquired Wexford-based Ornella Underwriting Limited for an undisclosed sum, bringing its combined Irish gross written premium to around €140 million and giving its broker partners access to a significantly wider range of risks through one managing general agent.
Ornella, established in 2012 and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, writes exclusively through brokers. Its book spans private motor, van, fleet, home, and commercial combined insurance across a broad range of trades, with specialist niches that including taxi, care homes, and equine cover. That breadth complements Pen's existing Irish portfolio, which is weighted towards non-standard motor risks in haulage, transportation, and fleet. Combined, the two businesses cover a motor range that extends from private cars to heavy goods vehicles, alongside a commercial and personal lines footprint that now reaches into several product categories Pen did not previously write in Ireland.
Pen entered the Irish market in June 2024 with its acquisition of Wrightway Underwriting, a Wexford-based haulage and transportation specialist generating around €40 million in GWP. After integrating that business under the Pen Underwriting Ireland brand and appointing Michael Doyle as chief executive of the Irish division earlier in 2026, the group has moved to its next deal.
Ornella's team of approximately 40 people will join the Ireland operation, and its management - chief executive Paul Whelan, director of trading Jack Fennell, chief operations officer and finance director Paul Donovan, and director of underwriting Brian Hughes - will remain in place.
Pen's move is part of a broader wave of UK-based MGA platforms building positions in Ireland. Optio Group entered in April 2026 through the acquisition of construction surety specialist Construction Guarantee Underwriters, while MGA capital partner Mission has launched Kyntra, a specialist property MGA in Dublin. The pattern sits within a wider European context. MGA gross written premium across Europe reached approximately US$23 billion in 2025, up around 15% year-on-year, with established platforms increasingly acquiring existing MGAs to expand their distribution reach rather than building broker relationships from scratch, according to Howden Re's 2025 European MGA report.
Tom Downey, chief executive of Pen Underwriting, described the deal as a "game changer" for the group's Irish broker partners. "Combined we will be one of the largest and most diverse MGAs in Ireland," he said. Doyle added that the acquisition creates an "end-to-end" motor offering stretching from private cars to haulage vehicles, while also adding new scale across commercial and personal lines.
Whelan said finding the right partner had taken priority over speed. "Becoming part of Pen will provide a strong platform to sustain our strategic growth while creating exciting opportunities for colleagues and further product development," he said.
The Ornella acquisition advances Pen's "2030 Vision," which targets £1.75 billion in group GWP by the end of the decade, up from approximately £1 billion today, through a combination of organic growth and acquisition, both figures confirmed on Pen's website. The combined €140 million Irish book, assembled through two acquisitions since June 2024, represents a concrete step in that direction and establishes the Ireland division as a meaningful contributor to the group's premium base.
