Randall & Quilter ups stake in New York-based Tradesman

Specialty non-life insurance company Randall & Quilter has agreed to increase its stake in New York-based managing general agent Tradesman Program Managers to 40%, it announced on Thursday, from 35%.

The AIM-traded firm said that as part of the transaction, it would divest its 35% interest in Roosevelt Road Re (RRRe), previously known as Sandell Re, to Tradesman’s majority shareholder Roosevelt Road Capital Partners (RRCP).

RRRe participates as part of a broad reinsurance panel on the business underwritten by Tradesman, it explained.

Randall & Quilter said its divestiture was in line with its “limited appetite” for live underwriting exposure, adding that it remained subject to regulatory approval by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

The company acquired its interest in Tradesman when it merged RRRe into Tradesman on 1 September last year.

Following completion of the agreement, Randall & Quilter said it would own 40% of Tradesman, with RRCP owning 60% of Tradesman and 100% of RRRe.

Tradesman underwrites contractors' general liability, worker's compensation and habitational general liability insurance through insurance policies which are issued by Randall & Quilter’s United States programme manager, Accredited Surety and Casualty Company.

In the year ended 31 December, Tradesman reported EBITDA of $13m, an increase of 61% on 2019, which itself was an increase of 99% from 2018.

“We are delighted to have increased our interest in Tradesman, which is a dynamic and fast-growing managing general agent offering a strong and expanding product range to its clients,” said Randall & Quilter executive deputy chairman William Spiegel.

“In addition to our two core business lines, programme management and legacy insurance, we believe selective managing general agent investments allows us to access capital light fee income, in addition to strengthening relationships with our program partners.

“Through our Accredited platform, we have supported Tradesman's continued success since its creation in 2017, and generated $6.7m of commissions on premium written by Tradesman in 2020.”

At 1157 GMT, shares in Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings were up 1.39% at 182p.