BMS shuts Hong Kong office, Asia CEO moves to Lockton

Specialist insurance and reinsurance broker BMS Group has shut its Hong Kong office and consolidated its Asian operations in Singapore, marking a strategic retreat from the city just a few years after launching its regional expansion plans there.

The closure also coincides with the departure of Sandra Lee, BMS Asia CEO, who is set to join insurance brokerage firm Lockton after leading BMS’s Asia operations since 2021.

BMS confirmed that its regional private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and tax (PEMAT) practice in Hong Kong has been discontinued as part of the move. The company will now focus its Asian operations and resource hubs entirely out of Singapore, which remains its regional headquarters.

Lee, who served as CEO of Asia and sat on both the BMS Asia Executive Committee and Board, had been responsible for overseeing the build-out, growth strategy, and profitability of the company’s Asian business. With more than 22 years of experience across legal and insurance sectors, she played a key role in establishing BMS’s transaction liability and M&A insurance presence in the region.

The move represents a significant shift from BMS’s earlier ambitions in Asia. In 2021, the broker announced the launch of BMS Asia, headquartered in Singapore, with proposed operations in Hong Kong. At the time, the company positioned Asia as a key growth market for M&A insurance broking.

Nick Cook, CEO of BMS Group, had described the launch as part of the company’s strategy to establish “scalable hubs in the key insurance markets around the world.”

BMS had also signalled plans to expand beyond M&A insurance into sectors such as reinsurance, renewable energy, marine, and capital markets as part of its long-term regional strategy.

While BMS Asia forms part of the wider global business employing about 1,000 people worldwide, the Hong Kong office reportedly had fewer than 50 employees. There has been no official update on whether affected staff will be laid off or relocated following the closure.

The decision comes amid intensifying competition in Asia’s specialty insurance market and a broader trend of firms reassessing regional footprints and operational costs across key financial hubs.