Cinven to sell its stake in Miller

Miller is a leading specialist insurance and reinsurance broker operating across the UK and internationally. Miller supports clients across a wide range of specialist areas, including Marine & Energy, Property & Casualty, Sports & Entertainment, Construction, Professional & Financial lines and Reinsurance. Miller places more than $3.2bn of premiums annually for more than 4,500 clients globally. The Company is headquartered in London with more than 900 staff across its international office network.

Having been identified as an attractive investment opportunity in the Financial Services sector, Miller was acquired by the Cinven Strategic Financials Fund (‘SFF’) and GIC, a global institutional investor, from Willis Towers Watson in March 2021. Cinven and GIC have worked in close partnership with the Company’s management team to support Miller’s evolution into a leading independent challenger in specialist broking and a destination of choice for high-quality entrepreneurial brokers. This strategy has been supported by Miller’s strong culture and reputation for best-in-market client service. 

Miller has delivered strong growth and profitability since the acquisition by Cinven and GIC by:

• Driving market share gains across specialist insurance niches, where Miller is recognised for its high-quality service and product expertise;
• Cementing Miller’s position as an employer of choice within the specialist insurance sector, allowing the business to attract high-quality brokers to enhance organic growth and support new product launches, including Reinsurance, Bloodstock & Livestock, Farms & Estates, Media and renewable energy propositions;
• Completing two bolt-on acquisitions as part of a targeted M&A strategy, which enhanced Miller’s footprint and product offering across Continental Europe and Asia;
• Supporting significant investment in the organisation, strengthening the senior management team and wider finance, M&A and operational functions;
• Maintaining a strong focus on operational excellence, centralising core functions across the business and implementing industry best practices, including introducing more efficient, tech-enabled processes; and
• Enhancing Miller’s digital capabilities, including the transition to a new customer engagement platform which has been rolled out across the organisation.

Commenting on the investment, Luigi Sbrozzi, Partner at Cinven said: 

“We are very proud of the journey Miller has travelled over the last three years and its strong growth during that time, which has been supported by expanding into new geographies and product lines. It is a great example of Cinven’s strategy to support leading companies with sustainable, resilient business models that can perform well through macroeconomic cycles. We wish the team continued success in the future.”

Juan Monge, Partner at Cinven, said: 

“We have greatly enjoyed working with James, Neil and the wider Miller team to deliver on the company’s growth ambitions as an independent platform. We have been impressed by the business’ continuous focus on excellence and on identifying, attracting and successfully onboarding complementary new broker teams and businesses. We believe Miller is well-positioned to continue its strong track record of growth in the next leg of its journey.”

James Hands, CEO of Miller added: 

“When Miller returned to independence in 2021, we outlined a bold and ambitious vision and today’s announcement reflects how we’ve delivered against this. We have meaningfully grown our revenues, both organically and inorganically, added well over 250 colleagues across the UK, Europe, Asia and Bermuda and built on our reputation for market-leading specialism and highest quality of service to our clients. Our shareholders have been pivotal in helping us to achieve this, and I would like to thank Cinven for their support and investment.” 

Completion of the transaction is expected at the end of the first quarter of 2024 and is subject to customary regulatory and antitrust approvals.