First Central Group Ltd., the UK vehicle and home insurer, has appointed investment banks as it prepares for a potential initial public offering in London, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company has lined up Deutsche Bank AG and UBS Group AG to steer a potential share sale, the people said, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. It’s has also asked Fenchurch Advisory Partners to act as financial adviser on the offering, they added.
A listing could value First Central at close to £1 billion ($1.3 billion), some of the people said. No final decisions have been made and First Central could decide not to proceed with an IPO, the people said.
Representatives for First Central, Deutsche Bank, UBS decline to comment, Fenchurch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The plans come as other UK insurance-related groups consider going public in the coming months, even as the war in Iran throws uncertainty over the IPO market in the near term. Private equity-backed cyber insurer CFC Group Ltd. and wealth manager Utmost Group Plc are each working with advisers on a potential IPO or sale, Bloomberg has reported.
Led by former Hastings Group executive Michael Lee, First Central offers motor and home insurance products to about 1.5 million customers in the UK. The group reported gross written premiums of £745 million in 2024 and adjusted core earnings of £111 million, according to its latest public accounts.
The Guernsey-based group previously explored a sale in 2022 via Evercore Inc., Bloomberg reported at the time.
Photograph: City of London; photo credit: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg
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