Founder and chief executive Steve McGill will continue to lead the firm, while chairman John Lloyd will remain actively involved. Both will remain as significant shareholders alongside the firm’s wider colleague base, while Warburg Pincus will sell its equity stake in full, marking a successful conclusion to the firms’ partnership.

EQT  said it would “drive accelerated organic growth and global expansion by continuing to attract and support specialty broking talent in key markets, invest further in technology and data capabilities, and expand the firm’s digital solutions”.

Steve McGill of McGill and Partners

It was founded in 2019 by Mr McGill alongside a core senior team that included Mr Lloyd, Stephen Cross and Karl Hennessy, with backing from Warburg Pincus, the pioneer of global growth investing, whose cornerstone investment supported the creation of a new category of (re)insurance broker.

EQT has committed to a new Equity participation plan to ensure long-term alignment, meaning all of McGill’s 600 staff will be able to benefit from the transaction. 

Mr McGill, said: “Our vision was to build an independent (re)insurance broker defined by its unparalleled expertise, cutting edge technology and an absolute focus on sophisticated clients who wanted an innovative approach to their larger or more complex risk. To have turned what was merely an idea seven years ago into a $2 billion global specialty enterprise is an achievement we are all incredibly proud of. We have built our firm person-by-person and client-by-client, creating a business powered by the most exceptional talent ever assembled at scale in this industry.”

Miriam Tawil, partner at EQT Private Equity added: “We have tremendous respect for what Steve and his team have built – their high-performance, entrepreneurial culture and compelling, innovative client proposition truly stand out in the market. Our growth mindset is well-aligned with McGill and Partners’ vision, and we look forward to investing in the team and platform to accelerate growth of its US and international client portfolio, further connecting the world to the Lloyd’s and London market.”

McGill and Partners was advised by Evercore, Perella Weinberg, Freshfields and Unity Advisory on the transaction. Management was advised by Mayer Brown and Liberty Corporate Finance. Ardea Partners served as exclusive financial advisor and Clifford Chance served as legal counsel to EQT.