UK insurance distribution M&A has just had its quietest quarter by volume since the pandemic, even as deal values climb to their highest level in years.
According to M&A advisory firm MarshBerry, only four deals were announced in September. That leaves 60 announced transactions so far in 2026, 22% fewer than the 77 at the same point last year. The third quarter produced just 18 deals, the lowest quarterly total since the second quarter of 2020, when COVID-19 brought dealmaking to a near halt.
MarshBerry expects the year to end well below 100 announced deals.
Deal value tells the opposite story. MarshBerry estimates total UK sector M&A was worth around £2.1 billion in 2025. This year has already passed £3 billion, with three months still to go.
About half of that came from a single transaction: EQT's agreement to buy a majority stake in specialty broker McGill and Partners from Warburg Pincus for $2 billion. It is the sector's first deal worth more than £1 billion since 2024. As Insurance Business reported at the time, McGill reached that valuation through organic growth in the seven years since its founding, rather than by acquisition. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027.
McGill was the third UK sector deal worth £100 million or more in the third quarter, bringing this year's total to five, the same as in 2025.
Private equity (PE) is behind the jump in values. Eight of this year's 60 deals involved a PE seller, compared with five PE exits in the whole of 2025. That is the highest number since 2021, when there were ten. The five largest UK deals of the year have all been PE exits.
But MarshBerry cautioned that the headline values flatter the level of consolidation. Three of the five largest deals, McGill and Partners, Optio Group and Prestige, were secondary transactions in which one PE investor replaced another. MarshBerry described these as refinancing transactions rather than industry consolidation, and said it would publish year-end figures both including and excluding such deals.
PE and PE-backed buyers have accounted for 48% of all UK deals this year.
The money is concentrated in specialty. Specialty targets, including managing general agents and Lloyd's brokers, made up 28% of deals by volume this year but more than 85% of total deal value, MarshBerry said. McGill's secondary deal followed similar refinancings at Optio Group in July and Carbon Underwriting in June. Buyers from the US, Japan and Australia have also completed sizeable specialty deals in 2026.
The pattern matches what MarshBerry reported last month, when specialty's share of UK deals reached a record level. MarshBerry said retail broking typically offers less scope for rapid organic and inorganic growth, which helps explain why PE capital is favouring specialty.
In retail, Brown & Brown (Europe) acquired MacKay Corporate Insurance Brokers, a chartered broker with three offices in Scotland. It is Brown & Brown's first retail acquisition in Scotland, and the firm plans to use it as a base for further expansion there. MarshBerry advised MacKay on the deal.
Lytham-based commercial broker Tower Insurance Brokers completed its first acquisition since raising finance from private credit investor TDC, buying Cheshire broker Riskworks. Tower has said it is considering further deals and aims to become a £100 million gross written premium (GWP) business.
Jensten Group acquired Venture Risks Group, a technology-focused commercial broker.
A late rush may still come. MarshBerry said a number of private sellers are working to complete deals before the Budget on 28 October, when the headline rate of capital gains tax, currently 24%, could rise. It expects to report more than four deals next month. IB flagged that window in August, when MarshBerry warned sellers would need to move quickly.
For broker owners weighing a sale, the market is sending mixed signals. Buyers are still paying strong prices for high-growth specialty businesses, while retail brokers face a thinner pool of active acquirers. Many of the most acquisitive consolidators have slowed or paused their UK buying this year.
