The P&C run off group Marco Holdings has acquired VA Insurance Services Limited (VAISL), its first captive transaction.

The captive is domiciled in the Isle of Man, and was acquired by Macro from Thomas Cook Group Treasury Limited (in liquidation).

Having received regulatory approval from the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority, the transaction has now concluded and was announced by Marco.

This is Marco’s first captive transaction, but CEO Simon Minshall hinted at an increase in run-off transactions in the industry.

“I am pleased to announce the acquisition of VAISL – Marco’s first acquisition of a captive. While the P&C legacy sector has recently seen a shift of activity towards capital relief based transaction, providing strategic solutions is a fundamental service Marco offers and is a core pillar in Marco’s strategy,” he said.

Jonathan Walker, head of origination at Marco, also hinted at more future transactions, noting that  acquiring a captive when the parent is no longer in business is different to when they are solvent.

“We’ve relieved the successor to the owner, the administrators, of the requirement of owning and managing an insurance company,” he told Captive Review. “The sale process is quite different to buying from company in a solvent state.

“We have experience now of buying a captive and buying from a liquidator, which is interesting and will be useful for future transactions.”

Marco is a European P&C legacy solutions insurance group headquartered in Malta. The group includes carriers Marco Insurance PCC Limited in Malta and British Reserve Insurance Company Limited in the UK.