Admiral acquires Luko’s French business
Luko , the troubled online property insurer from France, is being acquired by Admiral Group .
Luko was founded in 2016 to offer home insurance online. It raised over $85 million yet poorly managed its finances. According to French media outlets, it recently filed for a safeguard procedure as it looked to settle a €45 million debt following the two acquisitions it made in 2022 of German insurance startup Coya and French rent guarantee startup Unkle.
Luko was counting on a new round of funding following these acquisitions but wasn’t able to secure additional capital.
Yesterday, when Luko’s founder and CEO Raphaël Vullierme announced the deal on Linkedin, he wrote that it takes 8-10 years and €100-150M to build a sustainably profitable B2C insurer in the P&C space.
According to French media reports based on a LinkedIn post of an Unkle shareholder, Luko was sold for €11 million, with the option for the amount to increase by a further €3 million if certain goals are achieved. The shareholder also claims that Coya and Unkle would be sold.
Now, as part of Admiral, Luko will continue to develop its offering under the Luko brand.
Admiral provides insurance and loans products to over 9 million customers in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and the US. This transaction will support the group’s presence in France – L’olivier Assurance – as it already offers customers car and home insurance.
“As part of the Admiral Group, we can accelerate our development and capitalise on the expertise of the Group’s French subsidiary, L’olivier Assurance. Volume, diversification and differentiation are key pillars in the insurance market and I look forward to working closely with colleagues around the Group to achieve our common vision.” – Raphaël Vullierme, founder and CEO of Luko.
“We’re really proud that Admiral’s story so far has been one of organic growth. However, we believe that the addition of the Luko brand and business is a good strategic fit for us. In line with our diversification strategy, it will allow us to grow efficiently in France and to leverage their technological expertise to deliver for even more customers.” – Costantino Moretti Head of International Insurance for Admiral Group.
This transaction does not include Luko’s real estate, or German or Spanish operations.
