Saudi Re buys into Lloyd’s market
Saudi Reinsurance Company (Saudi Re) has completed a £8.95 million acquisition, buying a 22.5% equity stake in AdA Risk Holding Co Limited to cement a foothold in the Lloyd’s of London market. The deal provides Saudi Arabia’s only specialist reinsurer with a formal entry point into the entity that sits behind Lloyd’s Syndicate 2024, giving it access to a specific portfolio of insurance business.
Backers of Lloyd’s Syndicate 2024
AdA Risk Holding is the London-registered company behind AdA Syndicate 2024, which underwrites energy, marine and energy liability, ports and terminals physical damage, cargo and freight, aviation war, aviation all-risks and specie business. The syndicate is managed day-to-day by Probitas Managing Agency, having graduated from a Special Purpose Arrangement to full syndicate status for the 2026 year of account.
The transaction has closed after receiving regulatory approval from Saudi Arabia’s Insurance Authority. Howden Capital Markets & Advisory acted as exclusive financial adviser to AdA, with Clyde & Co as its legal adviser. Saudi Re was advised by PwC and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Existing ties to Probitas
Both companies have described the investment as a natural extension of an existing relationship rather than a new entry into the market. Probitas Managing Agency’s CEO at the time, Ash Bathia, thanked Saudi Re back in 2021 as Probitas’s “core equity partner” when the agency first picked up its regulatory approvals. Saudi Re’s stake in AdA specifically builds on that longer-standing tie to the wider Probitas group.
AdA itself was founded in 2023 by Natasha Jodrell, James Grainger and Paddy Riordan, with Jodrell as chief executive and Grainger as chief underwriting officer. Announcing the deal, Jodrell said the partnership would help AdA “continue to expand our underwriting platform and execute on our long-term strategy at Lloyd’s.”
Ahmed Al-Jabr, Saudi Re’s chief executive, called it “an exciting new chapter for Saudi Re,” pointing to AdA’s management team and describing the investment as building on the reinsurer’s past success in the London market.
For Saudi Re, a 22.5% minority stake is a relatively low-cost way to get exposure to Lloyd’s aviation, marine and energy underwriting expertise without taking on the capital commitment or regulatory overhead of setting up its own managing agency. This approach allows the reinsurer to tap into international expertise while maintaining a lighter operational footprint than a full-scale entry would require.
The financial impact of the transaction—its equity-accounted share of AdA’s results—will begin showing up in Saudi Re’s accounts from the third quarter of 2026. The timing lines up with a busier-than-usual period for new capacity at Lloyd’s, with a wave of new syndicates having launched across 2025 and into 2026. Saudi Re’s move also fits a broader pattern of Gulf-based insurers and sovereign-linked investors building closer ties to the London market as a route into internationally rated, diversified underwriting capacity, rather than trying to replicate that capability at home.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is Saudi Re’s largest shareholder, though not a majority owner. They secured Capital Market Authority approval for a share issuance to the PIF that lifted its capital base from SAR 891 million to more than SAR 1.158 billion and took the PIF’s stake to 23.08%.
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Saudi Re’s most recent full-year results, covering 2025, showed revenue up 48% to SAR 1.67 billion, though net profit after Zakat fell 71% to SAR 140 million—a drop they attributed to one-off capital gains of SAR 365.9 million booked in the prior year that weren’t repeated.
It is a significant development for Saudi Re.
Natasha Jodrell and her team will continue to lead AdA. They will focus on expanding the underwriting platform and executing the long-term strategy at Lloyd’s.
Ahmed Al-Jabr is pleased with the investment. He believes it will help Saudi Re build on its past success in the London market.
The deal will have a positive impact on Saudi Re’s accounts. They will begin to see the financial impact of the transaction from the third quarter of 2026.
Saudi Re’s move into the London market is part of a larger trend. Gulf-based insurers and sovereign-linked investors are building closer ties to the market to gain access to internationally rated, diversified underwriting capacity.
Businesses can benefit from combined fast trade platforms to expand their reach and capabilities.
Saudi Re’s investment in AdA is a strategic move. It will help them tap into international expertise and maintain a lighter operational footprint.
