HELIOS UNDERWRITING PLC

M&A Activity • Jan 22, 2016

National Storage Mechanism | Additional information

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RNS Number : 6516M

Helios Underwriting Plc

22 January 2016

22 January 2016

Helios Underwriting plc

("HUW" or the "Company")

Acquisition of Lloyd's Limited Liability Vehicle

HUW is pleased to announce that, in line with its strategy of increasing underwriting capacity through acquisition, it has acquired Devon Underwriting Limited, a limited liability member of Lloyd's ("LLV"), for a consideration of £1.1 million in cash.  The 2016 underwriting capacity of the LLV is £1.2 million (this compares with HUW's 2016 capacity of £28.1 million prior to this acquisition).  HUW will provide Fund's at Lloyd's in an amount of approximately £0.7 million.  The LLV participates in a spread of Lloyd's syndicates broadly similar to HUW's own participation.

Commenting upon the acquisition, Nigel Hanbury, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We are delighted to have made a further LLV acquisition which further increases our underwriting capacity.  This is in line with our stated strategy of acquiring corporate members as suitable opportunities arise.  We continue to believe that there remain significant opportunities for further growth available to the Company."

For further information please contact:

HUW Nigel Hanbury - Chief Executive	nigel.hanbury@huwplc.com
Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance David Jones	020 7131 4000
Stockdale Securities Robert Finlay	020 7601 6100

About HUW

HUW provides a limited liability direct investment into the Lloyd's insurance market and is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market (ticker: HUW).  HUW trades within the Lloyd's insurance market writing approximately £29 million of capacity for the 2016 account.  The portfolio provides a good spread of classes of business being concentrated in property insurance and reinsurance.  For further information please visit www.huwplc.com.

Additional information

Devon Underwriting Limited ("Devon") is a limited liability member of Lloyd's.  In the year ended 31 December 2014, Devon made a profit before tax of £0.33m on gross premiums written of £1.5m and its net asset value at completion is expected to be approximately £1.1m, including underwriting capacity with an estimated market value of £0.6m.

Set out below are Devon's 2013 and 2014 open years of account forecasts:

YOA	Devon syndicate capacity (£'000)	Forecast of syndicate profit (30 September 2015)
Mid point (£'000)	Mid point (%)	Range (%)
2013	1,659	159	9.57%	6.29 - 12.86%
2014	1,866	102	5.46%	1.09 - 9.82%

Source: Syndicate data and HUW analysis (before early release)

Set out below are details of Devon's syndicate participations for the 2013 to 2016 years of account:

YOA	2013			2014		2015		2016
Syndicate	(£'000)	(%)*		(£'000)	(%)*	(£'000)	(%)*	(£'000)	(%)*
33	204	12.3%	215		11.5%	160	12.1%	160	12.9%
218	117	7.1%	180		9.6%	120	9.1%	123	9.9%
308	133	8.0%	160		8.6%	100	7.6%	100	8.0%
510	215	13.0%	215		11.5%	160	12.1%	160	12.9%
557	50	3.0%	50		2.7%	25	1.9%	25	2.0%
609	275	16.6%	275		14.7%	140	10.6%	140	11.3%
623	189	11.4%	204		10.9%	160	12.1%	179	14.4%
727	150	9.0%	150		8.0%	150	11.3%	150	12.1%
1884	-	-	-		-	25	1.9%	-	-
1991	-	-	80		4.3%	60	4.5%	-	-
2791	217	13.1%	191		10.2%	140	10.6%	140	11.3%
6104	50	3.0%	50		2.7%	-	-	-	-
6105	-	-	22		1.2%	24	1.8%	-	-
6111	60	3.6%	74		4.0%	60	4.5%	67	5.4%
Total	1,659	100.0%	1,866		100.0%	1,324	100.0%	1,244	100.0%

* Percentage of total syndicate portfolio

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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