Gallagher insists no discussions have taken place on a potential sale of its Pen Underwriting operations in Australia – and it says it has “no intention” to sell the business.

insuranceNEWS.com.au reported yesterday that speculation on an impending sale has been moving through the local market. A trusted source claimed Pen did go through a pre-sale process recently.

Gallagher did not immediately respond to requests by insuranceNEWS.com.au for comment prior to publication of yesterday’s article, but a statement was provided last night which says “there has been no dialogue with Pat Gallagher or the US home office” on the matter.

The group also says there has also been “no dialogue with any third party or external consultants” and that it is “not aware of any rumours regarding a possible sale of Pen”.

Pen Underwriting in Australia was managed from London when it was formed in 2014 from Australis Group Underwriting and SRS, which at the time of its sale to Gallagher in 2012 was the largest Lloyd’s underwriting agency in the local market.