HELIOS UNDERWRITING PLC

M&A Activity • Dec 23, 2013

National Storage Mechanism | Additional information

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RNS Number : 1809W

Hampden Underwriting Plc

23 December 2013

23 December 2013

Hampden Underwriting plc

("Hampden Underwriting" or the "Company")

Completion of Acquisition of a Lloyd's Limited Liability Vehicle

and Exchange of Contracts in respect of a further Acquisition

Acquisition of Halperin Underwriting Limited

Hampden Underwriting announces that, in line with its strategy of increasing underwriting capacity through acquisition, it has acquired Halperin Underwriting Limited ("Halperin"), a limited liability member of Lloyd's ("LLV") for a total consideration of £0.7 million in cash.  The 2014 underwriting capacity of the LLV acquired is £0.7 million; this compares with Hampden Underwriting's 2014 capacity of £18.1m prior to this acquisition.  The assets of the LLV acquired include associated funds at Lloyd's ("FAL") to support its underwriting activities of £0.1 million and a HASP Stop Loss reinsurance policy with an additional contribution to FAL of £0.2m.  The Company will contribute a further £0.1 million to its funds at Lloyd's to support its enlarged underwriting activities.

Exchange of Contracts in respect of Nomina No 380 LLP

The Company also announces that it has exchanged contracts in respect of the acquisition of a further LLV, Nomina No 380 LLP, for a total consideration of £0.6 million in cash.  The 2014 underwriting capacity of the LLV acquired is £1.3 million; this compares with Hampden Underwriting's 2014 capacity of £18.9 million following the above acquisition of Halperin.  The Company will contribute a further £0.8 million to its FAL to support its enlarged underwriting activities.  Completion is subject to change of control consent from Lloyd's, which is anticipated to take place by 17 January 2014.

The LLVs acquired participate in a spread of Lloyd's syndicates similar to Hampden Underwriting's own participation.  It is anticipated that both LLVs will be included in the Company's collateralised quota share reinsurance arrangement for the 2014 year of account.

Commenting upon the acquisitions, Nigel Hanbury, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are delighted to have made these further acquisitions which further increase our underwriting capacity.  This is in line with our stated strategy of acquiring corporate members as suitable opportunities arise.  The acquisitions of these LLVs together with the other three LLVs acquired during 2013 will bring our 2014 underwriting capacity to a total of £20.2 million, representing a 57% increase over the underwriting capacity with which we started the year.  We believe that there are significant further opportunities for further growth available to the Company as we move into 2014."

For further information please contact:
Hampden Underwriting	Nigel Hanbury	nigel.hanbury@hampdenplc.com
Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance	David Jones	020 7131 4000

Additional information

Halperin Underwriting Limited is a limited liability member of Lloyd's; it is advised by Hampden Agencies Limited and, in the year ended 31 December 2012, made a profit before tax of £0.01 million on gross premiums written of £0.7 million and had net assets of £0.1 million at that date.

Nomina No 380 LLP is a limited liability member of Lloyd's which the Company has acquired from Timothy Michael Steel; it is advised by Hampden Agencies Limited and, in the year ended 31 December 2012, made a profit before tax of £0.1 million on gross premiums written of £1.1 million and had net assets of £0.07 million at that date.

About Hampden Underwriting plc

Hampden Underwriting plc has been incorporated primarily to provide a limited liability direct investment into the Lloyd's insurance market. Hampden Underwriting plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market (ticker: HUW). For further information please visit www.hampdenplc.com.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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