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Founded by seasoned insurance leaders Mark Boon and Luke Chesworth, (pictured) Aguila is a specialist international insurance broker, built specifically to support high-growth technology, science and creative businesses. After spending the last five years immersed in the US start-up market, Boon recognised a growing challenge facing UK innovators.
“For ambitious UK and EU companies wanting to achieve global success, the US has to be part of the business plan. But many founders tell us the same thing”, said Boon. “They’re building world-class businesses in the UK or Europe, but when it comes to expanding into the US, they struggle to find a broker who genuinely understands both the risks of emerging technologies and the realities of operating across international markets. As startups, they find themselves caught between generalist domestic brokers without international reach and massive global brokers where they simply aren’t a priority.” “
While many brokers say they can support US expansion, it usually involves a fragmented chain of UK, EU, and US retail and surplus lines brokers”, added Luke Chesworth, CoFounder. “We built Aguila to provide a unified, end-to-end solution under one roof. Our aim is to give ambitious founders one dedicated team and one clear strategy across every jurisdiction, helping them navigate investor demands and regulatory compliance, and ultimately grow faster.”
Aguila has secured direct regulatory permissions and authorisations in the UK, Europe and the US and operates from offices in London, Cambridge, New York and Brussels. This gives clients access to specialist expertise on both sides of the Atlantic in their local time zone and without relying on a network of brokers. The timing is significant, with the convergence of two key trends: the rising appetite among UK and European startups to expand into the US, and the increasingly critical role of specialty insurance such as directors’ and officers’ (D&O), professional indemnity, cyber and IP protection associated with emerging technologies and science.
The opportunity is magnified against the backdrop of a broader shift in the UK’s innovation economy, with the deeptech and AI revolutions driving big-ticket investment and significant growth. Many startups are conducting complex research, navigating clinical and regulatory pathways, and generating high-value intellectual property.
Aguila’s team combines decades of experience in supporting science, technology and creative businesses with a practical understanding of the risks and challenges involved in scaling internationally.
“UK and European tech and life science companies are incredibly ambitious”, said CoFounder Luke Chesworth. “They quickly see the opportunities in the US, but it can be daunting. They need some hand-holding to iron out some of the risk, whether that’s navigating investor demands, compliance hurdles or managing nuances between states.
” “We’re seeing a new generation of high-growth companies that will be truly transatlantic. If you combine US market access with European talent, businesses can generate prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic rather than extracting it from one to benefit the other. Aguila is in a great position to support founders wanting to build in Europe and scale in America – we want to make international borders feel like opportunities, not barriers.”
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