Acquisition of Cathedral Capital Limited completed

RNS Number : 4817S

Lancashire Holdings Limited

07 November 2013

 



LANCASHIRE HOLDINGS LIMITED

7 November 2013

London UK

LANCASHIRE COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF CATHEDRAL CAPITAL LIMITED

Further to the announcement made on 7 August 2013, the board of directors (the "Board") of Lancashire Holdings Limited ("Lancashire" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Cathedral Capital Limited ("Cathedral") (the "Acquisition").  The aggregate consideration was £266m.

Cathedral is an established specialty (re)insurance provider that operates exclusively in the Lloyd's insurance market and writes insurance and reinsurance business in property, aviation, satellite, marine cargo and contingency classes. The Acquisition will provide Lancashire with a platform at Lloyd's, the world's leading specialist insurance market. Specifically, Lancashire has gained Cathedral Underwriting Limited, a managing agency which manages two Lloyd's syndicates, Cathedral Syndicates 2010 and 3010.

Commenting on the Acquisition, Lancashire's Chief Executive Officer, Richard Brindle, said:

"We are delighted to have completed the Acquisition of Cathedral, and thanks are due to the teams at both Lancashire and Cathedral, as well as their advisers, who have worked so efficiently to get this done.  The quality of the Cathedral business and people, and the complementary fit of the portfolios makes the Acquisition a compelling opportunity to move the Lancashire model forward.  A presence in Lloyd's adds a third proposition for our clients and brokers and which, together with our London and Bermuda rated company markets and Kinesis, our collateralised third party capital initiative, means we can cater to all kinds of requirements.  The Lancashire, Cathedral and Kinesis teams have already begun to work closely and harmoniously together, and we're excited about the future of the enlarged group."

Commenting on the Acquisition, Cathedral's Chief Executive Officer, Peter Scales, said:

"We are also delighted that the Acquisition has completed.  Although our immediate focus is on our customers and brokers as we enter our main renewal season, in the short period since the deal was announced we are starting to really appreciate the possibilities going forward that the combined resources of the three trading platforms can bring.  Accordingly, we are looking forward to working with Lancashire and Kinesis to develop the enlarged Lancashire group, and I believe that we have the mixture of talents and a structure to tackle the market effectively now and in future."

For further information, please contact:

Lancashire Holdings Limited Christopher Head	[phone] [e-mail]
Jonny Creagh-Coen	[phone] [e-mail]
Haggie Partners	[phone]
Peter Rigby	(Peter Rigby mobile [phone])

About Lancashire

Lancashire, through its UK and Bermuda-based operating subsidiaries, is a global provider of specialty insurance and reinsurance products. The Group companies carry the following ratings:

	Financial Strength Rating (1)	Financial Strength Outlook(1)	Long Term Issuer Rating (2)
A.M. Best	A (Excellent)	Stable	bbb
Standard & Poor's	A-	Stable	BBB
Moody's	A3	Stable	Baa2

^{(1)Financial Strength Rating and Financial Strength Outlook apply to Lancashire Insurance Company Limited and Lancashire Insurance Company (UK) Limited.}

^{(2) Long Term Issuer Rating applies to Lancashire Holdings Limited.}

^{NB: Cathedral benefits from Lloyd's ratings: Standard & Poor's: A+ (Strong); A.M. Best: A (Excellent); and Fitch: A+ (Strong).}

Lancashire has capital in excess of $1 billion and its common shares trade on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LRE. Lancashire has its corporate headquarters and mailing address at Level 11, Vitro, 60 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4AD, United Kingdom and its registered office at Power House, 7 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton HM 11, Bermuda.

For more information on Lancashire, visit the Company's website at www.lancashiregroup.com

Lancashire Insurance Company Limited is regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority in Bermuda.

Lancashire Insurance Company (UK) Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK.

For more information on Cathedral, visit Cathedral's website at www.cathedralcapital.com 

Cathedral Underwriting Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK.

NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

CERTAIN STATEMENTS AND INDICATIVE PROJECTIONS (WHICH MAY INCLUDE MODELLED LOSS SCENARIOS) MADE IN THIS RELEASE OR OTHERWISE THAT ARE NOT BASED ON CURRENT OR HISTORICAL FACTS ARE FORWARD-LOOKING IN NATURE INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, STATEMENTS CONTAINING THE WORDS "BELIEVES", "ANTICIPATES", "PLANS", "PROJECTS", "FORECASTS", "GUIDANCE", "INTENDS", "EXPECTS", "ESTIMATES", "PREDICTS", "MAY", "CAN", "WILL", "SEEKS", "SHOULD", OR, IN EACH CASE, THEIR NEGATIVE OR COMPARABLE TERMINOLOGY. ALL SUCH STATEMENTS OTHER THAN STATEMENTS OF HISTORICAL FACTS INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE GROUP'S OR THE ENLARGED GROUP'S (I.E. THE GROUP, INCLUDING THE CATHEDRAL GROUP) THE FINANCIAL POSITION, RESULTS OF OPERATIONS, PROSPECTS, GROWTH, CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PLANS AND EFFICIENCIES, ABILITY TO CREATE VALUE, DIVIDEND POLICY, OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY, COMPOSITION OF MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS STRATEGY, PLANS AND OBJECTIVES OF MANAGEMENT FOR FUTURE OPERATIONS (INCLUDING DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND OBJECTIVES RELATING TO THE GROUP'S OR THE ENLARGED GROUP'S INSURANCE BUSINESS) ARE FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS. SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS MAY INVOLVE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN RISKS, UNCERTAINTIES AND OTHER IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE THE ACTUAL RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE GROUP OR THE ENLARGED GROUP TO BE MATERIALLY DIFFERENT FROM FUTURE RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.

THESE FACTORS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO: THE ENLARGED GROUP'S ABILITY TO INTEGRATE ITS BUSINESSES AND PERSONNEL, THE SUCCESSFUL RETENTION AND MOTIVATION OF THE ENLARGED GROUP'S KEY MANAGEMENT, THE INCREASED REGULATORY BURDEN FACING THE ENLARGED GROUP, THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF INSURANCE AND REINSURANCE CONTRACTS THAT THE GROUP WRITES OR THE ENLARGED GROUP MAY WRITE; THE PREMIUM RATES WHICH MAY BE AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF SUCH RENEWALS WITHIN ITS TARGETED BUSINESS LINES; THE POSSIBLE LOW FREQUENCY OF LARGE EVENTS; POTENTIALLY UNUSUAL LOSS FREQUENCY; THE IMPACT THAT THE ENLARGED GROUP'S FUTURE OPERATING RESULTS, CAPITAL POSITION AND RATING AGENCY AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS MAY HAVE ON THE EXECUTION OF ANY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES OR DIVIDENDS; THE POSSIBILITY OF GREATER FREQUENCY OR SEVERITY OF CLAIMS AND LOSS ACTIVITY THAN THE ENLARGED GROUP'S UNDERWRITING, RESERVING OR INVESTMENT PRACTICES HAVE ANTICIPATED; THE RELIABILITY OF, AND CHANGES IN ASSUMPTIONS TO, CATASTROPHE PRICING, ACCUMULATION AND ESTIMATED LOSS MODELS; THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ITS LOSS LIMITATION METHODS; THE POTENTIAL LOSS OF KEY PERSONNEL; A DECLINE IN THE GROUP'S OPERATING SUBSIDIARIES' RATING WITH A.M. BEST, STANDARD & POOR'S, MOODY'S OR OTHER RATING AGENCIES; INCREASED COMPETITION ON THE BASIS OF PRICING, CAPACITY, COVERAGE TERMS OR OTHER FACTORS; CYCLICAL DOWNTURNS OF THE INDUSTRY; THE IMPACT OF A DETERIORATING CREDIT ENVIRONMENT FOR ISSUERS OF FIXED INCOME INVESTMENTS; THE IMPACT OF SWINGS AND IN MARKET INTEREST RATES AND SECURITIES PRICES; A RATING DOWNGRADE OF, OR A MARKET DECLINE IN, SECURITIES IN ITS INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO; CHANGES IN GOVERNMENTAL REGULATIONS OR TAX LAWS IN JURISDICTIONS WHERE THE GROUP OR THE ENLARGED GROUP CONDUCTS BUSINESS.

ALL FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS IN THIS RELEASE SPEAK ONLY AS AT THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. LANCASHIRE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY OBLIGATION OR UNDERTAKING (SAVE AS REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH ANY LEGAL OR REGULATORY OBLIGATIONS INCLUDING THE RULES OF THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE) TO DISSEMINATE ANY UPDATES OR REVISIONS TO ANY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS TO REFLECT ANY CHANGES IN THE GROUP'S OR THE ENLARGED GROUP'S EXPECTATIONS OR CIRCUMSTANCES ON WHICH ANY SUCH STATEMENT IS BASED.

 

END

 

 

ACQUGGWAGUPWGWM