Wide Group acquires Ariostea Broker and ACF Societa Benefit Srl

Pollen Street Capital (“Pollen Street”) is pleased to announce that Wide Group has signed two new acquisitions; Ariostea Broker (“Ariostea”), a multi-line insurance broker based in Ferrara with deep expertise in public tenders and agricultural insurance, and ACF Societa Benefit Srl (“ACF”), a Rome-headquartered insurance broker specialised in transportation, logistics, fleet and cargo insurance.

Founded in 1992, Ariostea has built a well-diversified portfolio across public entities, SMEs, and agricultural clients. The business has demonstrated exceptional growth momentum, driven primarily by an increasing number of public tenders won in the utilities and municipal sectors.

The acquisition of Ariostea strengthens Wide’s position in two specialist segments: public sector tendering and agricultural insurance. Ariostea’s proven track record in winning competitive public tenders complements Wide’s growth ambitions in this attractive market, while its agricultural portfolio (30% of GWP) brings deep sector expertise with significant cross-sell opportunities. The Ferrara location provides a strategic hub between Bologna and Padova, expanding Wide’s presence in Emilia-Romagna.

ACF was founded in 2011 and has developed a distinctive position in the Central Italian market, serving a broad corporate client base with expertise in fleet and cargo insurance for the transport and logistics sectors. The business has built its reputation on a consultancy-led approach that combines sophisticated risk structuring with traditional broking services. This model has proven highly effective, delivering exceptional client retention rates and strong margin performance.

The acquisition of ACF establishes a Rome-based hub for Wide in Central Italy, materially extending the Group’s geographic reach. ACF’s specialisation in transportation and logistics adds important sector depth to Wide’s commercial lines offering, while its consultancy-focused model generates particularly stable recurring revenues.

Wide Group is Italy’s leading technology-enabled commercial broking consolidator. These two new deals represent the 17th and 18th completed since Pollen Street’s investment in August 2023, demonstrating momentum in executing its M&A-led growth strategy, with a strong pipeline of targets expected to close in the near term.