Calliden has sold its half of Arena Underwriting to Action Entertainment Insurance, which plans to expand the company’s specialist event, entertainment and security underwriting offering.

Calliden and Action established Arena in 2007. It writes $3 million of premium a year on behalf of Calliden.

Action Insurance Brokers MD Jonathan Stack says the group will expand Newcastle-based Arena’s product range and is finalising negotiations with another insurer.

“Calliden is a fabulous partner and we really enjoyed working with it but we felt Arena could grow more quickly if it was able to expand its market reach,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Calliden will continue as an insurer to Arena under a five-year underwriting agreement.

MD Nick Kirk says Calliden will make a $500,000 profit on the sale of its share.

“Creating new businesses and then selling our interest is a key part of our business model,” he said. “We remain committed to developing new joint ventures, with the next one planned for launch in the coming months.”