Canopius Group, one of Lloyd’s of London’s largest insurers, is plotting a flotation on the London Stock Exchange that could value it at more than £2bn.
Sky News has learnt that Canopius has approached investment banks about working on an initial public offering (IPO) that could take place in the coming months.
City sources said on Monday that a listing could value the insurance group at more than double what a Centerbridge Partners-led consortium paid for it just over three years ago.
The plans are being drawn up amid a flurry of investment in the sector.
Canopius insures risks in areas such as cybersecurity, marine cargo, fine art and heavy industry, and has grown over 20 years to become Lloyd's fourth-largest insurer.
The company last changed hands in 2017, when it was sold by Japan's Sompo for nearly $1bn.
It operates from offices in Australia, Bermuda, China and the US, as well as in the City.
Canopius's name derives from that of Nathaniel Canopius, a Cretan scholar who is reputed to have brewed the first cup of coffee in England in 1637.
The company's founders decided to use the name because of the links between London's insurance industry and Edward Lloyd's coffee house, which became recognised as the place for obtaining marine insurance in London.
A Canopius spokesman declined to comment on plans for an IPO.
