News & Insights

August Equity, a leading UK lower-mid-market private equity investor, is pleased to announce its investment in Starpeak, a specialist digital distributor of insurance serving niche SME and personal lines markets. The deal, which is the sixth to be announced from Fund VI, is subject to regulatory approval by the FCA.

Starpeak, led by industry specialists Andy Brownsell and Andy Pilgrim, is a technology-enabled managing general agent (“MGA”) focussed on underserved and high-growth segments operating across multiple brands which include Protectivity and SportsCover Direct – delivering tailored products to over 175,000 UK customers each year.

The investment marks a significant milestone for the business, with August supporting continued investment in its proprietary technology platform (“iTraps”) to drive digitally led growth. The platform enables rapid product development, largely automated underwriting and efficient direct-to-customer distribution, supporting the rollout of hyper-personalised insurance products across underserved niche markets. The business also plans to evaluate acquisition opportunities to support inorganic growth, alongside organic initiatives.

The move into the UK insurance services market is another example of August’s proven adjacency investment model, backing teams in sectors in which they have prior experience and expertise. It further develops the financial services franchise within its overall investment strategy and follows the successful exit of AAB to Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and new investments into financial services provider Superbia and law firm Higgs LLP.

As part of the deal Peter Thompson joins as Chair bringing significant sector experience from his role as CEO of BGL Group which he successfully exited to Pollen Street backed Markerstudy Group.

In a joint statement on behalf of Starpeak, CEO Andy Brownsell and CTO Andy Pilgrim, said “This investment represents an exciting new chapter for our team. We have built a scalable platform that combines strong insurance expertise with sophisticated technology and data capabilities. Partnering with August now gives us greater resources to accelerate our growth while continuing to deliver exceptional service to our customers.”

Partners Kishan Chotai and Greg Walsh led the investment for August, alongside Harry Caro and Jess Webster.

Kishan, who previously led on August’s investments in AAB and Superbia, said “Starpeak has built a strong reputation and demonstrated sustainable >25% annual growth in highly attractive markets. The UK insurance services sector continues to benefit from increasing demand for niche, hyper-personalised solutions, something that Starpeak has at its core. We believe the business has a highly scalable technology platform and an ambitious leadership team, both of which provide excellent investment dynamics.”

Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

August was advised by KPMG (Corporate Finance), CMS (Legals), PwC Strategy& (Commercial DD), 8Advisory (Financial and Tax DD), EY (Tech DD), Gallagher (Insurance DD), and Sicsic (Regulatory DD).