Completion of Sale

RNS Number : 1342G

Randall & Quilter Inv Hldgs Ltd

02 March 2015

 

Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd.

Completion of Sale

2 March 2015

Further to the announcement on 14 January 2015, the Board of Randall & Quilter is pleased to announce the completion of the sale to Hiscox Ltd. of R&Q Marine Services Ltd ('RQMS'), a specialist yacht and marine trades Managing General Agent (MGA) for a total cash consideration of £9.25m of which £6.9m will be retained by the Group after minority interests. For its share, the Group will receive £5m immediately and a further £1.9m contingent on the business generating certain levels of gross written premium over the next 12 months. The consideration is materially higher than the carried value of RQMS in the Group's latest published accounts. The Group will also retain certain surplus assets and profit commissions following the sale.

The sale of RQMS is part of the targeted disposal strategy referred to in the Group's November trading update, which will enable the Group to focus on its core strengths. Following a full evaluation process, the Board has determined that the growth potential and value of the business is significantly greater for a large established underwriting group than for the Group itself. This has been reflected in an offer for the business which the Board believes delivers the best value for shareholders.

Mutually acceptable terms for the sale of Synergy, the high net worth focused MGA, were not reached and the Board has therefore decided to retain this business for the foreseeable future. 

-Ends-

Enquiries to:

Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd.	www.rqih.com
Tom Booth	Tel: [phone]
Numis Securities Limited
Stuart Skinner/Robert Bruce (Nominated Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
Charles Farquhar (Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited
Dru Danford / Stephane Auton	Tel: [phone]
FTI Consulting
Edward Berry/Tom Blackwell	Tel: [phone]

About R&Q

Randall & Quilter pursues a buy and build strategy and has created a comprehensive range of investment activities and services in the global non-life insurance market.

R&Q is focused on the following three core areas:

·      Insurance Investments

·      Insurance Services

·      Underwriting Management

The Group:

·      provides a range of services to both the live and legacy (re)insurance markets to support growing businesses and address complex and challenging run-off issues;

·      has a team of over 400 insurance professionals based in the UK, US, Bermuda, and Europe with wide service capability in both the 'live' and 'run-off' markets;

·      owns and manages a portfolio of insurance companies, both active and in run-off, in the UK, US and Europe with net assets of £110.7m as at 30 June 2014;

·      owns an admitted P&C Insurer, A- rated by AM Best, with licenses throughout the US; owns a Bermuda Class 3A insurance company which currently supports the Group's syndicate participations;

·      launched Syndicate 1991 which commenced underwriting from January 1, 2013 with a capacity of £150m for 2015, manages one RITC ('run-off') syndicate, 3330, and owns and operates 2 MGA business units;

·      acquires and manages a portfolio of insurance receivables, with a carrying cost of £10.6m as at 30 June 2014, of which R&Q holds a 50% interest 

The Group was founded by Ken Randall and Alan Quilter in 1991.

Website: www.rqih.com

 

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