Gracher Kredit- & Kautionsmakler

What Gracher Kredit- & Kautionsmakler does

Gracher Kredit- & Kautionsmakler is a German independent financial services broker specializing in surety insurance (Kautionsversicherung), credit insurance (Kreditversicherung), and factoring. Founded in 2000 by Alfons-Maria Gracher and headquartered in Trier, the company has grown to become Germany's leading surety insurance broker, mediating more than 50% of new business in this domestic segment and managing approximately €18 billion in total surety credit volume across roughly 1,300 clients worldwide. Its primary customers are mid-to-large corporates and private equity firms — including named relationships with Mutares and AEQUITA on multi-hundred-million-euro carve-out transactions — operating across construction, mechanical engineering, real estate, and energy verticals.

Name

Gracher Kredit- & Kautionsmakler

Legal name

Gracher Kredit- und Kautionsmakler GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://gracher.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gracher is Germany's leading independent surety insurance broker, managing ~€18 billion in credit volume across ~1,300 mid-to-large enterprise and private equity clients. It offers surety, credit insurance, factoring, and proprietary digital tools (SuretyManager, bürgschaft.jetzt) through nine European offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Brokerage

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Captive Insurance Advisory & Management (FSAEADAF)

Keywords

• Surety insurance brokerage
• Credit insurance brokerage
• Corporate factoring advisory
• Avalanche credit management
• Carve-out transaction structuring

Headquarters

HQ city

Trier

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Commission / Brokerage on Surety Insurance: Gracher acts as an insurance broker (Makler) earning commission (Courtage) on surety insurance policies placed for clients. The company also optimizes existing guarantee contracts at no extra cost to clients, generating revenue through ongoing commissions from insurers.
2. Commission on Credit Insurance: Revenue generated through commissions from placing credit insurance (Warenkreditversicherung) and related products for corporate clients.
3. Factoring Advisory and Arrangement Fees: Gracher advises on and structures factoring solutions for clients, earning fees for arrangement and ongoing advisory services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Gracher is an independent insurance broker placing surety insurance, credit insurance, and factoring solutions for medium and large enterprises, private equity firms, and construction companies across Europe. The firm provides advisory, market comparison across 2,500 current surety contracts, optimization of existing guarantee portfolios, and proprietary digital management tools (gracher SuretyManager and bürgschaft.jetzt) to support clients with liquidity, payment default protection, and complex carve-out or M&A transactions.

Product overview

Gracher Kredit- und Kautionsmakler is a financial services company offering a unified platform of surety, credit insurance, and factoring solutions. The core digital products include SuretyManager (a proprietary calculation and management software for automating surety bond processes) and bürgschaft.jetzt (a digital comparison and application platform for standard surety insurance). These are supplemented by the gracher plus package offering avalmanagement, gracher Protect, Master Cover, and the gracher Database. The company operates primarily in Germany and Central Europe, serving approximately 1,300 clients with a credit volume of 18 billion euros.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SuretyManager: A proprietary digital platform for calculating and managing sureties/bonds, offered free to gracher customers.
• bürgschaft.jetzt

Products and services

• Kautionsversicherung (Surety Insurance) Surety insurance brokerage covering advance payment bonds, performance bonds, contract fulfillment bonds, warranty bonds, travel price insurance, customs bonds, and industry-specific solutions for medium and large enterprises, PE firms, and construction companies. Provides access to 2,500 current surety contracts from multiple insurance providers.
• Kreditversicherung (Credit Insurance) Credit insurance brokerage covering merchandise credit insurance (Warenkreditversicherung), investment goods credit insurance, political risks, fidelity insurance (Vertrauensschadenversicherung), insolvency contestation (Insolvenzanfechtung), and business information services. Includes access to credit information on 45 million companies worldwide.
• Factoring Factoring advisory and arrangement services that enable corporate clients to receive immediate payment for delivered goods and services independent of their own creditworthiness, serving as a reliable financing tool for working capital and receivables management.
• gracher SuretyManager Proprietary, self-developed calculation and management software for gracher customers that automates all process steps from application to write-off for surety bond management, replacing manual handling across the lifecycle of a bond.
• bürgschaft.jetzt Digital self-service platform for comparing and applying for standard surety insurance quotes, allowing customers to request credit commitments in a few steps online. Available exclusively through gracher and offered as a white-label platform to banks and insurance brokers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Managed surety credit volume of ~18 billion euros; ~2 billion euros new business mediated annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Surety AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Gracher is a member of the Surety Alliance, an exclusive peer group of professional surety brokerage firms in the largest financial centers across the United States, Canada, South America, and Europe. This membership provides global reach and international transaction support capabilities for clients with cross-border operations.
• Mutares SE & Co. KGaAflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGracher supported Mutares in the carve-out of Nord Gas Solutions (from Wärtsilä) by structuring and replacing ~260M EUR in bank guarantees with six surety insurers, plus arranging 40M EUR additional capacity. Gracher coordinated with buyer, seller, four banks, and eight insurers to achieve a closing-ready structure.
• AEQUITA GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGracher supported Munich-based investor AEQUITA in the carve-out of selected European olefin and polyolefin activities from LyondellBasell (now operating as Velogy). Structured 205M EUR avalanche framework, 100M EUR supplier limits, and a cross-border factoring structure for the transaction generating 2.5B EUR revenue.
• Aon Poland (Paweł Sajewicz prior employer)minorOthersNote: Paweł Sajewicz, now Head of Surety and Credit Insurance Poland at gracher, was previously Head of Surety Practice at Aon Poland. This is a career reference, not an active partnership.
• Allianz Trade, Atradius (mentioned as partner insurers)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKey surety and credit insurance providers with whom gracher places business. Paweł Sajewicz, head of Poland operations, previously worked as risk analyst and underwriter for both Allianz Trade (formerly Euler Hermes) and Atradius.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Aon plc: Largest global insurance and reinsurance broker with a substantial surety practice across Europe. Competes directly with Gracher for large corporate and multinational surety mandates, particularly for clients with cross-border guarantee needs.
• Marsh (Marsh McLennan): Global insurance broker and risk advisor with a dedicated surety practice. Directly comparable to Gracher in providing intermediation between corporates and surety insurers, especially on complex transactions.
• WTW (Willis Towers Watson): Global advisory, broking, and solutions firm with a significant surety and credit insurance practice. Competes with Gracher for corporate and PE surety mandates in Europe.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Global insurance brokerage and risk management firm with growing surety capabilities. Overlaps with Gracher in serving mid-to-large corporates seeking surety and credit insurance intermediation.
• Lockton: World's largest privately held insurance brokerage, comparable to Gracher in its owner-led structure. Operates surety and credit practices competing for European corporate and specialty risk mandates.
• Howden Group: Specialty insurance broker with a strong surety and credit insurance practice across Europe. Directly comparable to Gracher as a specialty broker competing for complex surety placements.
• Funk Gruppe: One of the largest independent insurance brokers in Germany, providing risk management, surety, and credit insurance advisory. Competes directly with Gracher in the German mid-to-large corporate market.
• Ecclesia Group: Major German insurance broker with specialty practices including surety and credit insurance. Comparable to Gracher as a German-headquartered broker serving corporate clients across multiple verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Allianz Trade (formerly Euler Hermes): World's largest trade credit insurer, and a key carrier with whom Gracher places business. Comparable as a credit insurance market participant but operates as an underwriter rather than a broker intermediary.
• Coface SA: Global credit insurance carrier operating across Europe. Comparable to Gracher's credit insurance practice but as an underwriter/carrier rather than a brokerage intermediary; relevant for understanding the carrier-side competitive landscape.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gracher
• Xx.com/grachergroup

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gracher Kredit- & Kautionsmakler