European Market

European Insurance Distribution M&A Market Enters a More Selective and Strategic Phase

European insurance distribution M&A is increasingly playing out on different timelines by market, driven by local consolidation maturity, regulation, and the depth of buyer platforms. The UK, long seen as the most transparent bellwether, saw momentum cool materially in 2025. Across continental Europe the picture is more varied: Iberia, Italy and parts of Central and Eastern Europe are accelerating as professionalization, succession and compliance investment bring more owners to market, while several Northern and Western European markets remain broadly steady. For several years, rising premium rates and, consequently, higher commissions provided a steady uplift to broker revenues across many European markets. That tailwind has now moderated in numerous insurance lines, most notably in commercial, reducing the level of automatic top-line growth. As a result, underlying performance is coming into sharper focus. Brokers with strong client retention, genuine organic growth and a clear value proposition are pulling away, while weaker platforms are struggling to sustain momentum.

Buyers are placing greater emphasis on strategic fit rather than pure scale.

Specialist capability, defensible niches and recurring revenue quality sit at the heart of most investment cases, alongside cultural alignment and leadership depth. With margin pressure rising and organic growth harder to “buy”, integration has shifted from a post-deal workstream to a core value driver. Platforms with proven operating models, strong data discipline and a credible path to synergy capture are consistently rewarded in pricing and valuation outcomes. Private capital has been a dominant force for the past few years in European M&A, but the playbook is shifting. Private capital continues to back both established platforms and new consolidators across Europe, and there is no shortage of capital still looking for deployment. At the same time, the pool of scale targets is tightening in several markets, pushing more activity toward smaller add-ons and capability buys. A growing number of larger PE-backed platforms are also moving into refinancing and exit windows, which brings secondary sales, selective trade exits and, occasionally, renewed Initial Public Offering (IPO) talk back onto the agenda for 2026.

M&A market update

MarshBerry identified 531 announced M&A transactions involving European insurance brokers in 2025. The true total is likely higher, as many smaller deals go unreported and are therefore difficult to track comprehensively. This leaves 2025 slightly below the previous two years, when around 560 transactions were announced annually. Regionally, the most notable shifts were a materially lower deal count in the UK, down by roughly a third, and a near doubling of transactions in Southern Europe, led by Spain, Portugal and Italy.

UK M&A has entered a more measured phase

The UK insurance broking market remains the most mature and best capitalized in Europe, supported by a large domestic commercial lines base and its global role in specialty and wholesale business through Lloyd’s of London. After years of intense consolidation, the market has entered a more measured phase. In 2025, 99 UK insurance distribution transactions were announced, the lowest annual total since 2017 and well below peak levels of 2023 and 2024 which announced 151 and 152 transactions respectively. Activity is now characterized by smaller, targeted acquisitions and selective platform investments rather than rapid scale expansion, reflecting both limited availability of attractive mid-sized targets and a stronger focus on integration capacity, earnings quality and long-term strategic fit. PE-backed platforms continue to shape competitive dynamics, but with more disciplined acquisition strategies. Groups such as The Ardonagh Group, Howden, JMG Group, PIB Group and Seventeen Group remain active, primarily pursuing bolt-ons that deepen local density or add specialist capability. Large international brokers, including Marsh, Aon, WTW and Gallagher, continue to compete selectively for high-quality assets. Valuation discipline is firmly embedded, with greater scrutiny on organic growth and execution risk. Exit activity is becoming more visible. Refinancings and recapitalizations are being used to extend hold periods while renewing acquisition capacity. Larger groups are also raising minority or syndicated equity, while IPOs remain a selective, timing-dependent option, with 2026 to 2027 often cited as a potential window for the strongest platforms.

The DACH insurance broking market, the German-speaking region composed of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, is at an important inflection point. It combines one of Europe’s largest and most attractive insurance economies with a highly fragmented broker landscape, yet consolidation is progressing more cautiously and selectively than in several neighboring markets. The market remains fundamentally attractive, but 2025 reinforced that scale alone is no longer sufficient to sustain accelerating deal momentum. Germany, often described as Europe’s most promising market for broker consolidation, recorded 73 M&A transactions in 2025. This was broadly in line with the past three years, despite expectations of a meaningful increase. Reported volumes, however, likely understate true activity: an increasing share of transactions involve very small, ownermanaged firms and are completed without public disclosure. As a result, the headline number points less to stabilization and more to a shift in the deal mix toward smaller, less visible acquisitions. Austria continues to show higher relative momentum, with more than 43 announced transactions since 2023, largely involving very small brokers and driven by a concentrated set of active platforms. Switzerland remains more selective and specialist-oriented, with transactions typically aligned to targeted capability and regional density plays. Looking into 2026, the base case for DACH is selective but resilient activity, supported by long-tail consolidation, sponsor-backed recapitalizations and a gradual re-acceleration in Germany as integration cycles mature and refreshed balance sheets are redeployed.

French M&A market reflects disciplined buyers

The French insurance broking market combines meaningful scale with a structurally long runway for consolidation. Unlike the UK, where the sector is already highly institutionalized, France remains highly fragmented, with more than 90% of broking firms employing fewer than 10 people. That fragmentation continues to support a strong deal rationale, which is reflected in the emergence of an increasing number of platforms with buy-and-build ambitions. Buyer interest is increasingly focused on scalable groups that can execute repeatable integration, deepen specialization and strengthen governance. In MarshBerry’s quarterly tracking, 39 transactions were announced through December 2025. One important caveat is that micro deals in the French market are often not disclosed and can be difficult to track. Looking into 2026, expectations are for continued platform consolidation supported by institutional capital, a higher incidence of structured recaps and sponsor-to-sponsor exits for scaled assets, and steady specialist bolt-ons across the fragmented long tail. In practical terms, competitive tension is likely to remain highest for scarce, high-quality platforms with demonstrable organic growth, specialist capability and integration capacity.

Deal momentum in Italy

Italy’s insurance distribution M&A market is increasingly shaped by a build-and-scale investment thesis. Capital is flowing toward commercial brokers and MGAs that can grow into scalable, professionally managed consolidators. Rather than pursuing premium volume alone, buyers are prioritizing specialist expertise, operational depth and technology-enabled distribution. Deal activity accelerated sharply in 2025, with 57 announced transactions versus 20 the year before. This headline number still likely understates the true pace of consolidation, as many smaller, succession-driven tuck-ins remain private and under-reported. Structurally, Italy remains a tied-agent and bancassurance-led market, rather than a broker-led one, although brokers continue to gain share, particularly in the corporate segment. Combined with Italy’s still relatively low insurance penetration and density versus more developed European markets, the growth and consolidation case is clear and continues to attract incremental strategic and sponsor interest.

Iberia’s M&A market shows strong growth

The Iberian market, which includes Spain and Portugal, is quickly emerging as one of Europe’s most attractive regions for insurance distribution M&A. Deal activity in Spain has remained highly active for several years, going from 21 announced deals in 2021 to 34 deals in 2025. Meanwhile in Portugal, the number of announced transactions tripled in 2025 with 15 announced deals, versus five in 2024. Neither country has traditionally been a pure broker market. Even so, brokers are playing a growing role, particularly in commercial lines. Meanwhile, the underlying insurance market, especially the life segment, is among the fastest growing in Europe, further strengthening Iberia’s appeal for investors and acquirers. At the same time, the MGA model is gaining momentum. As scale, specialist capability, and access to underwriting capacity become more critical, MGAs and delegated authority platforms are increasingly seen as a direct route to growth.

For many long-established independent brokers, the strategic choice is becoming clearer: invest substantially in professionalization, governance, compliance, and technology, or join a larger group that can provide the capital, systems, and execution support required to compete.

Benelux remains highly investable

The Benelux region, which includes the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, continues to be viewed as one of continental Europe’s more investable insurance distribution consolidation arenas. This market is increasingly shaped by a mature Netherlands, a still-developing Belgian roll-up landscape, and a small Luxembourg that typically features as an add-on within broader platform strategies. In the Netherlands, there were 80 transactions in 2025, and the market is now firmly in a long-tail consolidation phase. With many mid-sized brokers already absorbed, activity has shifted toward smaller, owner-managed firms, while competition for quality assets remains intense and mid to upper segment transactions are increasingly selective. Against that backdrop, Q4 2025 featured a meaningful platform move with Yellow Hive agreeing to acquire SUREbusiness, one of the country’s largest commercial service providers with more than 700 affiliated (not owned) insurance brokers. Belgian-headquartered Unibreda also agreed to take a majority stake in Rotterdam-based Anchor Insurance, highlighting continued cross-border appetite for specialist lines such as marine, energy and construction. Belgium recorded 27 transactions in 2025 and remains structurally under-consolidated, leaving a longer runway for platform build-out. Q4 2025 combined digital convergence with continued roll-up momentum.

Nordic M&A rewards specialty and discipline

The Nordics stand out because distribution in both non-life and life is shaped by three reinforcing features. First, personal lines are highly digital and increasingly direct, pushing intermediaries up the value chain toward more complex risks. Second, a large and sophisticated employer-sponsored pensions and benefits ecosystem anchors broker-led advice in life, pensions and employee benefits. Third, a strong transparency culture around remuneration combined with the most far reaching restrictions on insurer-paid commissions pushes brokers toward fee-based, value-added advisory models. In MarshBerry’s European tracking, the Nordics recorded 28 announced transactions in 2025, down from 54 in the peak year 2023. That slowdown reflects a shrinking pool of available acquisition targets, but also more disciplined buyers prioritizing proven organic growth, specialist capability and strong execution over rapid roll-ups. Looking ahead, Nordic deal flow into 2026 is expected to remain steady but disciplined, with buyers focused on specialist capability additions, selective platform reinforcement and opportunities where scale genuinely improves service quality, compliance and technology investment, rather than growth for its own sake.

Central and Eastern Europe M&A picks up

Central and Eastern Europe saw a pickup in insurance distribution M&A in 2025, with 38 transactions versus 20 in 2024, and the true total is likely higher given the prevalence of undisclosed micro-deals that are difficult to track consistently. Central and Eastern Europe is increasingly a “pick-your-spots” region for insurance distribution investors, with lots of countries, many sub-scale local players, and just enough standout platforms to make the hunt exciting. The structural appeal is straightforward: insurance penetration is still materially below Western Europe, leaving plenty of runway as economies formalize, SMEs professionalize their risk buying, and employee benefits and life protection continue to develop. That growth backdrop, combined with fragmented distribution and improving regulatory standards, creates a classic platform play: buy a scalable hub, then add specialist capability, regional density and digital distribution to lift margins and resilience.

Projected trends for 2026

In 2026, insurance broking M&A is expected to be more selective and strategic. Consolidation continues, but the pace is increasingly defined by platform quality, integration capacity and specialist capability. In many European markets, deal flow into 2026 is expected to remain steady but disciplined, with buyers focused on specialist capability additions and opportunities where scale genuinely improves service quality, compliance and technology investment, rather than growth for its own sake. Private capital is expected to remain active, with no signs of losing interest in the brokerage market. In 2025, European broker M&A transactions which involved PE-backed acquirers represented 61% of all deals, continuing the trend seen over the last two years. Now, with interest rates declining, which may lead to more investment capital as debt becomes less expensive, the conditions appear even more favourable for increased PE activity.

Continental Europe and UK Private Capital-Backed Transactions

In this dynamic, shifting European market, a profound M&A strategy is a necessity. Insurance brokers, strategic buyers and investors do not have the time to sit back and watch the industry around them become transformed and consolidated. Robust strategic growth planning, with an eye on M&A, is crucial to pursue opportunities in this fast-changing environment. It’s an exciting time for the industry, and it will be interesting to see how this battle for the European market will play out.