Asta, the third-party managing agent at Lloyd’s, and Bermudian-based Catalina Group, a global provider of retrospective reinsurance and capital solutions, have announced that Lloyd’s have granted “in principle” approval of a new syndicate to underwrite reinsurance to close transactions, within the Lloyd’s market.

Managed by Asta, Catalina Syndicate 3232 is aiming to commence accepting business into the 2023 year of account, and will be capitalised through a wholly aligned corporate member owned by Catalina.

With the expertise and infrastructure of the Catalina Group behind it, the syndicate’s strategy is to target larger-sized transactions,

Catalina group chief executive officer Ian Parker said: “By combining Asta’s proven third-party syndicate-management acumen with our 17 years of expertise in the retrospective reinsurance space and the backing of our highly-regarded shareholders, Catalina Syndicate 3232 will immediately bring a strong and credible new player to support the larger deals in Lloyd’s.”

Asta chief executive officer Lorraine Harfitt added: “Catalina is a market leader in the legacy sector, and its expertise and robust capital resources are a welcome addition to Lloyd’s.

“We continue to see the desire among the managing agency community to find solutions for back-year portfolios, allowing syndicates to focus on their core business of underwriting new risk, whilst leaving run-off to the specialists.

“The combination of Asta and Catalina will increase the options available to managing agents looking to do this and will extend the range of solutions which Asta can provide across the syndicate life cycle.”