Europe’s Insurance Distribution M&A Revives Unevenly: UK, France & Nordics Outpace Germany

The insurance distribution M&A landscape in Europe in Q3 2025 reflects a pattern of divergent recovery embedded within the broader resurgence of global dealmaking activity. Key markets such as the UK, France, Southern Europe and the Nordics enjoyed robust transaction volume, while Germany lagged, and Austria persisted in consolidation of small-scale businesses. This divergence mirrors data in cross-sector M&A: global deal value rose significantly (36 % YoY in Q3 2025), the first time global M&A has surpassed $1 trillion in a quarter for just the second time ever, indicating that dealmakers are increasingly able to bridge previous valuation gaps and move delayed deals forward.

Private equity in continental Europe is playing a central role—not only in volume (≈58 % of insurance distribution deals) but also in shaping the types of transactions: sponsor-to-sponsor deals, platform‐scale investments, and scaling via tech, MGA, and digitally enabled broker models. Examples like Advent’s negotiation to acquire Kereis in France demonstrate how PE backing is used to build differentiated insurance broker platforms. Another trend is the push toward digital, specialty, and MGA‐type intermediaries, which require fewer capital burdens and offer growth leverage.

However, challenges persist. Deal activity in Germany remains muted, likely reflecting valuation mismatches, integration issues, or market fragmentation. Central & Eastern Europe shows selective cross-border activity but remains under-penetrated. Meanwhile, macroeconomic tailwinds—falling inflation, easing rate expectations, better valuation benchmarks—are encouraging, but risks remain, particularly from policy uncertainty, geopolitical risk, and inflation/resurgence of rate pressures.

Strategically, acquirers that can move decisively, leverage valuation clarity, deploy capital efficiently (especially via private equity), and target growth through digital platforms, MGAs, specialisation, or cross-border extensions where feasible, are likely to outperform. The mid-market, where many insurance broker transactions are concentrated, will reward operational discipline. Conversely, entity scale, integration capability, regulatory navigation, and managing cross-border complexity will distinguish winners from laggards.

Open questions include: how quickly Germany will re-accelerate and whether its structural challenges can be overcome; whether CEE regions will get priced in as priority markets; how funding and interest rate trajectories will affect cost of capital; and whether valuation gaps re-emerge if economic conditions worsen.