BP Marsh & Partners, a UK specialist private equity investor in which PSC Insurance Group holds a 20% stake, has reported improved earnings for the year to January 31.

Consolidated profit after-tax grew to £13.7 million ($25.1 million) from £12.5 million ($22.9 million) in the previous corresponding period.

BP Marsh says its portfolio has shown “commendable resilience on the whole” in response to the pandemic-hit business environment.

“Within the portfolio, COVID-19’s impact has been variable,” BP Marsh said. “Some of our investments witnessed improved performance whilst others experienced challenges.

“We are confident that the set of results which we have released… demonstrates that, even faced with serious adverse conditions, our diverse portfolio is still able to deliver a solid performance.”

The investor’s current investment portfolio is made up of equity stakes in insurance brokers and underwriting agencies operating in Australia, the US, the UK, Canada, Spain and Singapore.

In Australia, its investments are concentrated in underwriting agencies via a 20% stake in ATC Insurance Solutions, 40% stake in MB Prestige Holdings, 19.7% stake in Sterling Insurance and 41% stake in Ag Guard.

BP Marsh says its insurance intermediary investments have continued to see pricing increases across sectors in which they operate.

“COVID-19 has acted as an accelerant for prevailing market trends which has not gained full traction before 2020,” BP Marsh said.

“This included premium pricing increases and insurers reducing their risk appetite for new business and seeking to mitigate existing exposures.

“These trends will continue into 2021 and we do not see any change on the horizon as the year progresses.”

BP Marsh says its insurance intermediary portfolio companies are budgeting to produce an aggregate £1.4 billion ($2.6 billion) in gross written premium in this financial year. If achieved, it will be higher than the £1.1 billion ($2 billion) reported in the last financial year.