Joint Venture to Accelerate Bishop Street’s Differentiated MGA Platform with Preferred Capacity and access to Topsail Re’s Underwriting Expertise
NEW YORK and GREENSBORO, N.C., March 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bishop Street Underwriters (“Bishop Street”), a RedBird Capital Partners portfolio company, today announced a joint venture with Topsail Reinsurance SPC, Ltd. (“Topsail Re”), a market leading, privately held reinsurer. Topsail Re will be co-investing into Bishop Street which will drive strategic value for Managing General Agents (“MGAs”) and Program Administrators within the Bishop Street ecosystem, by providing preferred capacity and access to Topsail Re’s proven track record of supporting MGAs and programs, including underwriting and administrative expertise. The investment will further assist with fostering new primary, fronting, and reinsurance carrier relationships for existing program expansion, new product and program launches, and underwriting team lift-outs.
Bishop Street is a value-additive acquirer and program incubator, marrying established businesses’ brand equity with best-in-class capabilities, capital, and resources to build a powerful growth platform. Bishop Street is partnering with entrepreneurs, operators and underwriters across specialty P&C markets.
The firm, which launched last year, is led by its CEO, Chad Levine, and its President, Chad Weber, and is backed by RedBird Capital Partners. Mr. Levine joined Bishop Street after holding numerous leadership roles at Aon, including Aon Affinity’s Chief Strategy Officer, where he was responsible for strategic growth planning and execution across Aon’s portfolio of North American specialty insurance programs.
Mr. Weber was previously a Managing Director in Guy Carpenter’s North America Treaty practice, responsible for leading reinsurance placements and relationships with several Global insurance carriers and MGAs.
“We are excited to partner with Topsail Re. From the initial launch of Bishop Street, we have been focused on utilizing capacity as a strategic asset for our platform partners. Preferred capacity is a critical enabler for MGAs and this investment supports organic growth at existing MGA programs and the launch of new programs,” said Levine. “Topsail Re is the ideal first partner for Bishop Street as we continue working with MGAs in the specialty P&C commercial space and is a clear differentiator in the marketplace.”
“Combining RedBird’s strong track record building companies in and around the insurance industry, like Constellation Affiliated Partners, as well as their network and expertise in the financial services sector with Bishop Street’s multi-boutique platform model creates a really unique partner in this space that can offer benefits of scale in addition to individualized support for the business,” added Weber. “The Topsail Re team recognized the potential of what we are building, and we are excited to work together to capitalize on this specialized segment.”
“Bishop Street is creating an exceptional platform to support a diverse range of partners with necessary underwriting and distribution functions as well as capital across specialty lines. We are pleased to work with Bishop Street to leverage our combined scale to provide additional capacity for MGAs, and drive organic growth opportunities,” said David Johnson, Topsail Re CEO. Tom Gubash added, “For Topsail Re, this partnership with Bishop Street and RedBird is in direct response to two key factors: our existing partners consistently requesting strategic growth capital in addition to our risk-capital (reinsurance) capacity solutions, as well as our desire to continually evolve alongside our clients by expanding the breadth of our capabilities and partner-first solutions.”
“The combination of Bishop Street and Topsail Re is a unique approach to the MGA buy-and-build strategy. Now, more than ever, it is important to marry strategic business building capabilities with deep capacity relationships. The Topsail Re partnership will enable day-one strategic value to prospective Bishop Street acquisitions, as well as long-term value for Bishop Street and its acquired platforms for tuck-ins, new program launches, and team lift-outs,” said Mike Zabik, Partner of RedBird Capital Partners.
In addition to the creation of the joint venture, Topsail Re CEO David Johnson and Chief Strategy Officer & Executive Vice President Christopher Miller will join the Bishop Street Board of Directors, and Tom Gubash, Managing Director of Topsail Capital Partners, will join as a Board Observer.
About Bishop Street
Bishop Street Underwriters, a RedBird Capital portfolio company, seeks to partner with Managing General Agents (“MGAs”) as well as niche underwriting teams. Bishop Street aims to combine their best-in-class (re)insurance executive team’s vision with RedBird’s strong track record, expertise, and network in the financial services sector to build a differentiated platform that is uniquely positioned to capitalize on secular growth tailwinds in the industry. For more information, please go to www.bishopstreetuw.com
About Topsail Re
Topsail Re was established in 2018 as a closely held Cayman Islands based reinsurer with affiliated offices in the US. In just five years, Topsail Re has established itself as a leading global reinsurer with a reputation for responsiveness, creativity, and excellent client service. Topsail Re’s strategy is to be disciplined and patiently develop long-term and profitable relationships with like-minded companies. The team looks to partner with companies in which its expertise and capital can make a material and lasting difference. Topsail Re trades off a dedicated capital base and has significant financial backing to support future growth initiatives. Topsail Re is a US tax paying entity under section 953(d) of the US tax code. For more information about Topsail Re, visit www.topsailre.com.
About RedBird Capital Partners
RedBird Capital Partners is a private investment firm that builds high-growth companies with strategic capital solutions to founders and entrepreneurs. The firm currently manages $10 billion in assets on behalf of a global group of blue chip institutional and family office investors. Founded in 2014 by Gerry Cardinale, RedBird integrates sophisticated private equity investing with a hands-on business building mandate that focuses on three core industry verticals – Financial Services, Sports and Media & Entertainment. Over his 30-year investment career, Cardinale has partnered with founders and entrepreneurs to build some of the most iconic growth companies in their respective industries. For more information, please go to www.redbirdcap.com.
Contact:
Bishop Street Underwriters
info@bishopstreetuw.com
Topsail Re
info@topsailre.com
Media Contact
Dan Gagnier
Gagnier Communications
redbird@gagnierfc.com
646.569.5897
