LONDON—A recent spurt of mergers and acquisitions in the Lloyd's of London market is attributed to factors that include low company valuations and Lloyd's currently stringent rules on newcomers.

Preparing for the end of the ongoing soft insurance and reinsurance market is another factor, experts say.

“We are currently bobbing along at—or near—the bottom of the cycle,” said Peter Allen, head of financial services at Grant Thornton U.K. L.L.P., “and this is the point in the cycle where people look to consolidate.”

Three suitors—Barbican Insurance Group Holdings Ltd., Canopius Group Ltd. and Haverford (Bermuda) Ltd.—currently are vying to buy Omega Insurance Holdings Ltd., which operates syndicate 958 at Lloyd's.

While Barbican and Haverford already have submitted offers, Canopius said it likely would make a formal offer soon.

Canopius and Barbican already have a Lloyd's presence. In a statement, Barbican cited the cost and capital efficiencies of combining two Lloyd's entities into one as reasons behind its desire to buy Omega.

Mark Byrne, CEO of Haverford and co-founder of Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings S.A., said that while Omega has suffered heavy natural catastrophe losses, the business is “scratched and dented but not a train wreck.”

He said his attraction to Omega, in part, is because it is within Lloyd's.

September saw a series of M&A deals.

ProSight Specialty Insurance Holdings Inc. bought Lloyd's coverholder TSM Agencies Ltd. and the capacity rights to syndicate 1110 for an undisclosed sum (see chart).

A consortium comprising Tawa P.L.C., Assuranceforeningen Skuld and Paraline Group Ltd., bought the Lloyd's managing agency services of Whittington Group Pte.

Torus Insurance Holdings Ltd. acquired Lloyd's syndicate 1301 and its corporate members Broadgate Underwriting Ltd. and Broadgate Underwriting 2010 Ltd.

Although Torus underwrites construction business at Lloyd's through an agreement with Starr Managing Agents Ltd., and some quota share business, it said the Broadgate deal would give it direct access to Lloyd's and further its development as a specialty insurer.

And Ryan Specialty Group L.L.C. completed its acquisition of Jubilee Group Holdings Ltd. and installed Lloyd's veterans Johnny Rowell, former executive director and head of specialty lines at Beazley Group P.L.C., as CEO and Max Taylor, former chairman of Lloyd's, as nonexecutive chairman.

Several drivers are causing the increased interest in Lloyd's, experts say.

Because of soft insurance and reinsurance pricing, it has become more difficult in recent years for new syndicates to bring business plans to Lloyd's management that “have a reasonable chance of making a profit,” said Richard Ward, CEO of Lloyd's.

The Lloyd's Franchise Performance Board reviews and approves syndicate business plans.

This may be a reason companies have been keen to gain a foothold in the Lloyd's market looking to buy existing Lloyd's businesses or bring additional books of business into Lloyd's, he said.

Simply buying a Lloyd's business does not necessarily make the process of business plan approval any simpler, said Denis Sugrue, a director at Standard & Poor's Corp. in London.

Still, there has been “steady interest” in Lloyd's by potential investors in recent years because of its international licenses, “chain of security,” strong ratings and the lines of business underwritten, among other factors, he said.

Relatively low stock valuations of many Lloyd's businesses also have made them more attractive, Mr. Sugrue said.

But some shareholders may be reluctant to sell their shares at such a low price, he said.

It is “historically relatively cheap” to acquire a Lloyd's business, and the market is “ripe for M&A,” said Martyn Street, a director in the insurance team at Fitch Ratings Ltd. in London. But the current economy may make it difficult for potential acquirers to raise the capital needed to buy potential targets, he said.

Anticipation from investors that the market may turn in the next couple of years means many are interested in buying a platform now to be ready to take advantage of rate increases when they occur, he said.

The European Union's upcoming Solvency II regulatory regime also may spur some companies to seek to diversify to gain the capital benefits under the new rules. In addition, smaller companies may see the rules as too great a burden and put themselves up for sale as a consequence, Mr. Street said.

There likely would be more M&As among existing Lloyd's entities were it not for the fact that so many Lloyd's businesses are strongly associated with their leaders and/or founders, and that personality plays such a large role in the way the Lloyd's market operates, said Grant Thornton's Mr. Allen.

Lloyd's reluctance to admit too many startup syndicates and its strictness on new entrants could explain some of the M&A interest, although several potential purchasers already have a Lloyd's presence, he said.