Building strength across Lloyd’s and beyond: Asta’s year in review

Building strength across Lloyd’s and beyond: Asta’s year in review

Lorraine Harfitt, Chief Executive Officer, Asta

As 2025 comes to a close, it’s a good opportunity to reflect on what has been a hugely successful year for Asta.

It has been a year of growth and development: we’ve welcomed a number of new clients, strengthened our leadership, and refined our operating model. But what hasn’t changed are the qualities clients value most: our expertise, a strong partnership culture that puts people and clients first, and our independence — which means their priorities are always our priorities.

Lloyd’s remains at the heart of Asta’s story, but the past year has also shown how much opportunity there is beyond it.

Strength across the Lloyd’s market

In 2025 we were proud to welcome four exceptional businesses to Asta.

Ki and GIC Re both novated their syndicates — 1618 and 1947 — to us. Each made the move for similar reasons: strong governance, a proven track record of delivery, and the reassurance of a partner focused entirely on supporting their success. That confidence reflects what differentiates us. Our experience, depth of capability and partnership approach allow clients to pursue their next phase of growth knowing they are in safe hands.

Convex launched Syndicate 1984 under our wing — a significant return to Lloyd’s for Stephen Catlin, and another sign of the market’s enduring pull for ambitious insurers. And Santam, Africa’s leading general insurer, secured in-principle approval to launch its own syndicate - an exciting milestone not only for Santam, but also for Asta and the Lloyd’s market as a whole.

What excites me about this mix is what it says about both Lloyd’s and Asta. These decisions show that the market remains the leading global platform for specialist risk. And they highlight the breadth of what Asta does: supporting some of the largest insurance groups in the world while also helping new entrants take their first steps. That balance is unusual, and it reflects nearly two decades of experience in building and supporting Lloyd’s businesses of every shape and size.

Supporting every stage of development

Our work is all about progression and helping clients build, launch and grow within Lloyd’s. We end the year managing  20 clients on our Lloyd’s platform, , representing more than £4.5bn of capacity.  For 2026, the client numbers will continue to grow and capacity under management at the start of the year is projected to exceed £5.5bn.

But it’s not the number that matters — it’s what it represents. It shows the ambition of our clients and the trust they place in us.

That trust comes from experience. For nearly 20 years, we’ve been at the side of businesses as they progress through the Lloyd’s lifecycle — from MGAs, to SIABs, to full syndicates and achieving their own independence as managing agencies. Nobody else in the market has guided so many businesses through the Lloyd’s lifecycle.

That lifecycle is flexible by design. An MGA can develop into a SIAB and in turn, a SIAB can then grow into a full syndicate. Carbon’s path — MGA to SIAB to Syndicate 4747 — is a great example.  We manage the majority of SIABs which are  currently operating in the market and two have already matured into full syndicates under our watch.  During the year, we also successfully supported Everest in achieving approval for their own Managing Agency, helping them achieve their strategic goal.

Other clients choose to remain with us for the long term, valuing the governance, operational strength and continuity we provide. Whether clients move on to independence or continue under our management, our purpose is the same: to help them build, grow and succeed.

That, ultimately, is Asta’s strength — supporting every stage of development and every version of success.

Strength in leadership

This year also saw some changes to our leadership team. Stuart Logue joined as CFO, bringing financial expertise as well as strong commercial and strategic experience to our Executive Team.  Andrew Neden and Sian Fisher joined the Managing Agency board as Independent Non-Executive Directors, adding further depth to our governance and to the Board’s wider market experience.

These aren’t just new names on an organisation chart. They bring fresh perspectives and additional skills at a time when the regulatory demands on managing agencies continue to grow.

Responding to change in the market

The Lloyd’s market never stands still. Work on Blueprint Two continues to reshape systems and processes. New capital continues to arrive. Regulators — the PRA, FCA and Lloyd’s itself — are watching more closely than ever. And competition among third-party managing agents has intensified, with formal tender processes now the norm.

These are healthy pressures. They push us to raise our standards and sharpen our proposition.

Our strength lies in combining experience, scale and culture. We are large enough to provide stability and efficiency, but agile enough to stay personal. And we are trusted because we deliver — not just once, but time after time.

I’m also proud of the community we’ve built within the Lloyd’s environment. Through our cross-client forums and events, our syndicates share insights and learn from each other’s experiences. That exchange of ideas benefits the wider market and reinforces the collaborative spirit that underpins Lloyd’s success.

Beyond Lloyd’s: strategic partnership in action

While Lloyd’s remains at our core, 2025 has also been a year of expanding horizons. Beyond Lime Street, we’ve continued to grow as a strategic partner for clients operating in other parts of the market — whether through MGAs, delegated authority businesses or broader service partnerships.

Our MGA platform, Asta Underwriting Management Limited (AUML), continues to play a central role here. It provides a bridge between entrepreneurial ambition and the structure required for sustainable growth. Some use it to incubate their business; others use it to access distribution outside Lloyd’s. It complements our Lloyd’s proposition and gives clients flexibility.

AUML gives businesses the flexibility to grow at their own pace and, when ready, to access Lloyd’s. It’s an important part of our value proposition — helping clients bring great ideas to life and then supporting them as they evolve.

We also have a services platform, Asta Insurance Services (AIS) which continues to provide high quality, expert services, not only to our own syndicate clients but also to other syndicates operating in the market.

Building for the future

We also reshaped how we work within the wider Davies Group. The creation of a London Market division, combining Asta with Davies’ Intermediary & Market Services (I&M), is about closer collaboration and smarter delivery.

Our goal is straightforward: to give clients the best of both worlds — the specialist expertise of Asta and the wider resources of Davies — without losing the independence and culture that define us.

Being part of Davies also opens up access to a wider set of capabilities: actuarial, audit, delegated authority management, claims, compliance and technology solutions. This ecosystem strengthens what we can offer, while our independence ensures that Asta’s clients know our focus remains firmly on their success.

International growth

As well as seeing new international clients join us in the shape of GIC Re and Santam, we also continue to develop our Asta overseas platforms.  Both Asta Europe and Asta Solutions Asia continue to support clients expanding into new regions. These platforms provide the local infrastructure and regulatory permissions to operate confidently across multiple jurisdictions, while maintaining the same standards of governance that define our Lloyd’s business.

People and culture

For all the milestones this year, what I’m most proud of is our people and the culture they create.

At Asta we talk about values like trust, collaboration and innovation. But they’re not posters on a wall — they’re things I see every day. I see it when teams go the extra mile to launch a new client successfully, I see it when colleagues share expertise across businesses, helping each other to succeed. And I see it when people bring new ideas forward, challenging us to improve and innovate.

Culture is rightly a focus for Lloyd’s and regulators, putting behaviour and inclusion firmly on the agenda. I’m proud that Asta has been ahead of that curve. We’ve nurtured a culture where people feel they belong, where development is encouraged, and where respect and openness are non-negotiable. In 2025, we demonstrated that commitment by becoming a Global Festival Partner for DiveIn.

That culture matters for clients too. It means they are working with people who are ambitious on their behalf but grounded in the right values. It means they can trust us to deliver — not just because of the processes we have in place, but because of the people behind them.

What really defines us

Looking back over 2025, several themes stand out that I believe define Asta today.

We are selective: we only work with businesses we believe in, and that makes for stronger partnerships. We are reliable: clients know we will deliver, year after year. We are pragmatic: we adopt new technology and approaches when they genuinely add value, not just because they’re fashionable. And above all, we are collaborative: acting as a strategic partner to help clients achieve their goals — whether that means launching, growing or becoming independent.

These qualities aren’t abstract. They are what our clients experience when they work with us, and they are the foundation for our future.

What comes next

As we move into 2026, I feel optimistic. The demand for independent, high-quality managing agency services is only increasing, and Asta is in the strongest position it has ever been to meet that demand.

But growth won’t come by standing still. We will keep adapting — to regulation, to technology, to new forms of risk, and to the changing shape of global capital.

For me, the consistent factor is this: supporting businesses at every stage of their development. From MGAs taking their first steps, to SIABs proving their model, to full syndicates expanding globally, to corporates exploring captive syndicate structures, Asta is there as the independent partner that makes those ambitions possible.

2025 has shown once again that trust is built day by day — through the standards we set, the quality we deliver, and the relationships we build. That is what Asta stands for, and it is what we will carry into 2026.

A thank you

So as 2025 draws to a close, I want to thank our clients, partners and colleagues for the trust you’ve placed in us. It has been a year of real progress for Asta and for the market, and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve built together.

— Lorraine Harfitt

Chief Executive Officer

December 2025