Leading UK-based fintech CFC announced today a major investment joint-led by EQT and Vitruvian Partners, two of Europe’s leading private equity firms.
Founded in 1999, CFC was one of the pioneers in the cyber insurance market. Today, it is a technology-driven business that has established itself as a global leader in cyber and provider of cover for a diverse range of emerging risks that sit at the intersection of technology and business. CFC writes 50 products across 20 different classes of specialist insurance focused primarily on SME businesses.
Serving more than 100,000 businesses in over 90 countries, CFC’s proprietary global insurance platform delivers smarter, faster underwriting while using powerful data science and advanced threat intelligence to anticipate risk and protect clients.
The company has significantly grown its employee count over the past three years and has an established global footprint with more than 500 staff located across the UK, US, Europe and Australia. Earlier in the year CFC also launched its own Lloyd’s Syndicate.
CFC’s continued growth trajectory underlines the depth and quality of its business model: it has an annual premium run rate in excess of £750 million ($1 billion) and delivered an organic EBITDA CAGR of 35% over the last five years.
Upon completion, following regulatory approval, CFC will nearly double its employee shareholders from 175 to over 300. Employees will remain the largest shareholding block in CFC.
Dave Walsh, CFC founder and Group CEO, said: “We’re delighted to welcome EQT as an investor alongside Vitruvian. Both EQT and Vitruvian’s focus on high-growth technology companies and commitment to creating a positive impact through their portfolios is a natural fit with CFC and our ethos as an independent, employee-owned business. EQT’s investment, and Vitruvian’s reinvestment, is testament to CFC’s track record of delivering strong, profitable growth underpinned by the expertise of our people and our history of market-leading technology innovation.
“As we look ahead, we see a risk landscape that is rapidly shifting, with ever-expanding cyber threats, new insurance challenges presented by intangible assets and evolving risks in rapid growth sectors. CFC has a key role to play in helping our growing customer base address these challenges, while the pioneering technology we’ve built over the last two decades is enabling us to deliver at increasing scale. We look forward to partnering with EQT and thank Vitruvian for their continued partnership. It has never been a more exciting time to be at CFC.”
Robert Maclean, Partner at EQT, commented: “CFC is a truly innovative insurance business with technology at its core and a track record of growth and profitability which surpasses even the most mature fintech businesses we’ve seen. The accelerating pace of investment in its core platform aligns perfectly with EQT’s approach of future-proofing companies.”
Joe O’ Mara, Partner at Vitruvian, commented: “As longstanding partners and investors in CFC, we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the road ahead. We’ve witnessed first-hand what a remarkable business CFC is - a tribute to the leadership team, the culture they’ve created and the commitment to excellence and innovation that has kept CFC at the forefront of the insurance market.”
Sofia Ahuja, Managing Director at EQT, added: “CFC’s unrivalled reputation in cyber insurance and focus on emerging risk areas ensures that it is well-placed to capture the significant growth expected in the classes it writes. We’re delighted to invest alongside Vitruvian at this exciting stage in CFC’s journey.”
Stephen Byrne, Partner at Vitruvian, added: “We would like to thank the whole CFC team for a great partnership over the last four years and we are excited to be able to continue to support their ambitions for the future.”
CFC was advised by Evercore on the transaction.
About CFC
CFC is a specialist insurance provider, pioneer in emerging risk and market leader in cyber. Our global insurance platform uses cutting-edge technology and data science to deliver smarter, faster underwriting and protect customers from today’s most critical business risks.
Headquartered in London with offices in New York, Austin, Brussels and Brisbane, CFC has over 500 staff and is trusted by more than 100,000 businesses in 90 countries. Learn more at cfc.com and LinkedIn.
About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 70 billion in assets under management across 27 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership. More info: www.eqtgroup.com
About Vitruvian
Vitruvian is an independent growth capital firm headquartered in London with offices across London, Stockholm, Munich, Luxembourg, San Francisco, and Shanghai. Vitruvian focuses on dynamic situations characterized by rapid growth and change across industries spanning information technology, financial services, life sciences & healthcare, media, and business and consumer services. Vitruvian is currently investing from its fourth fund, the €4.0 billion Vitruvian Investment Partnership IV, which is among the largest pools of capital in Europe supporting innovative and higher growth companies. Vitruvian Funds have backed over 45 companies and have assets under management of approximately €10 billion. Notable investments to date include global market leaders and innovators in their field such as Just Eat, FarFetch, Darktrace, Trustpilot, Marqeta, TransferWise, and Skyscanner.
