Howden Capital Markets & Advisory announces key new hire to accelerate European expansion

London, 27 June 2024 – Howden Capital Markets & Advisory (“HCMA”), a leading risk, capital and strategic advisor to the global insurance and reinsurance industries, is pleased to announce the expansion of its European team as it continues to diversify its offerings and accelerate its rapid growth trajectory. 

Sébastien Bamsey has been appointed as Managing Director and will be based in HCMA’s London office, effective 15 July. He joins from J.P. Morgan, adding significant international expertise in providing corporate finance and capital markets advice to insurance and reinsurance companies.   

Jarad Madea, CEO of HCMA, commented: “At HCMA, we are committed to providing our clients with best-in-class M&A, capital and ILS transaction advice and support to achieve their global growth and capital needs. I’m delighted to welcome Sébastien to the team as we continue to expand our European reinsurance and capital markets capability. Through a broad bench of leading industry talent, and the diversified resources across Howden, we provide state of the art data-driven insights and analytics, giving our clients a strategic advantage in today’s competitive market.”

Sébastien Bamsey, Managing Director, commented: “I am very excited to be joining an investment banking franchise with an exclusive focus on the insurance and reinsurance sectors, incredibly deep industry knowledge, and extensive capabilities across strategic advisory and all forms of capital raising and ILS/risk transfer. I have been impressed working opposite the Howden team on prior innovative transactions in the insurance space and I feel fortunate to be joining such a talented group of individuals.”

Bamsey brings over 18 years of (re)insurance-focused corporate finance and global capital markets expertise and experience in managing international teams at J.P. Morgan. Most recently, Bamsey served as J.P. Morgan’s Head of European Insurance Debt Capital Markets, leading the financing dialogue with all of the bank’s national and global (re)insurance clients headquartered in Europe, targeting both public and private markets. 

During his tenure, Bamsey spearheaded many complex and strategically critical workstreams, encompassing acquisition financing, regulatory and rating agency relationships, alternative forms of risk transfer and bespoke, underwritten solutions. 

Bamsey joins HCMA during a record period of activity. Since 2016, HCMA has been involved in over 145 completed transactions in the P&C insurance industry. In the past twelve months alone, HCMA participated in 28 announced transactions, totalling over $7.5 billion in value. 

Highlights from the past twelve months across buy-side and sell-side M&A, cat bonds, sidecars, new company formation and reciprocal exchange and Lloyd’s transactions include:

• Exclusive financial advisor to Gallatin Point Capital in its $1.25 billion acquisition and surplus note investment in Trusted Resource Underwriters Exchange
• Financial advisor to CVC in its strategic partnership with Dale Underwriting Partners
• Financial advisor to James River Group Holdings, Ltd. in its $277mm sale of JRG Reinsurance Company
• Financial advisor to SageSure in its acquisition of GeoVera Advantage Insurance Services
• Financial advisor, structuring agent and placement agent to AmRisc in its $325mm Trouvaille Re Ltd. sidecar formation
• Financial advisor to Dellwood Insurance Group in its $250mm new company formation
• Sole Structuring Agent and Sole Bookrunner to Arch Reinsurance Ltd through their newly formed 144A Cat Bond vehicle, Ramble Re Ltd, totalling $100M
• Joint structuring agent and joint bookrunner to Palomar Specialty in its fifth 144A Cat Bond issuance through Torrey Pines Re Ltd., totalling $420M
• HCMA's 144A Cat Bond ILS unit stands as the fastest growing in the industry, with an outstanding issuance volume that has increased over 400% since 2021 and leads the market in 2024 in bringing new sponsors to market

As HCMA continues to demonstrate robust growth, its commitment to delivering high-quality solutions and advice remains steadfast, supported by leading data across its global platforms. 

For more information about Howden Capital Markets & Advisory, please visit howdencma.com.