Insurance giant Beazley has seen profits plunge just weeks after agreeing to be taken over by Zurich Insurance in a deal worth £8.1billion.
The Lloyd’s of London underwriter revealed profit tumbled to £870m in 2025 – a drop of 19 per cent compared to the year before, as it pointed to a ‘softening’ market.
The FTSE-100 firm is one of the world’s largest specialist insurers and focuses on areas including cybersecurity, fine art and yachts.
It said insurance written premiums slid 1 per cent to £4.56billion and earnings per share fell 17 per cent to 113.4p.
Chief executive Adrian Cox said that the results came ‘amidst a volatile global backdrop and in a softening insurance rating environment.’
‘In these conditions, our robust underwriting discipline and active cycle management continued to ensure our success,’ he said.
Beazley revealed its annual profits plunged last year amid a ‘softening’ insurance market
He added: ‘As we start 2026, we continue to see a similar pattern of competitive insurance pricing and global instability.’
But it said that ‘as things stand, our exposure to the unfolding events in the Middle East is limited, and we do not expect to be materially impacted’ after war broke out this week following US attacks on Iran.
Beazley, which was set up in 1986 and joined the stock market in 2002, is based in London and has operations in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.
It said on Monday that it had agreed to be sold to Zurich for £8.1billion – a move which will create a UK-based global specialist insurance powerhouse but will see Beazley exit the London stock market.
The news reignited fears that successful UK firms are being sold on the cheap.
There are concerns that such takeovers are hollowing out the stock market and handing lucrative returns to foreign owners.
It comes as aerospace supplier Senior could become the latest UK-listed firm to fall to overseas predators as it eyes a joint bid from US investment firms Tinicum and Blackstone.
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