Quarterly Syndicate Mid-point Forecasts

RNS Number : 3390Z

Helios Underwriting Plc

17 May 2019

 

17^th May 2019                                                   

Helios Underwriting plc

('Helios' or 'the Company')

Quarterly Syndicate Mid-point Forecasts

Helios, the unique investment vehicle which acquires and consolidates private underwriting capacity at Lloyd's, announces the current mid-point forecasts in respect of its portfolio of syndicate capacity for the 2017 and 2018 years of account based on 1st quarter 2019 estimates.

Nigel Hanbury, Chief Executive, commented:

"As the only listed consolidator of private capital at Lloyd's, Helios offers a unique opportunity for growth and returns from exposure to the Lloyd's market through targeted acquisitions of the better quality syndicates. Our strategy is bringing results - despite a difficult market backdrop, the 2018 underwriting year is outperforming Lloyds by 40 basis points.

"Looking ahead, the number of LLV's for sale is increasing and we see attractive near-term opportunities to continue to consolidate the market and achieve improved outperformance against Lloyd's.

"We look forward to generating further growth and value for our shareholders."

		Year of Account
		2016	2017	2018	2019
		£m	£m	£m	£m
Capacity - Position as at 17th May 2019
	Retained	35.1	28.9	18.7	16.1
	Reinsured	19.9	25.4	38.2	37.6
		55.0	54.3	56.9	53.7
Mid-point forecast at 31st December 2018			(9.53%)	N/A
Result / Current mid-point forecast			(8.95%)	(3.53%)
Lloyd's Market Average			(10.4%)	(3.80%)
Helios outperformance			1.45%	0.27%

Notes

1)    The table above shows the capacity as at 17^th May 2019 splitting the capacity retained by Helios and the capacity that is ceded to quota share reinsurers.  Helios acquired six limited liability vehicles during 2018 for a total consideration of £12.2m and in 2019 to date a single LLV has been acquired for £1.1m

2)    The midpoint forecasts for 2017 and 2018 year of account as of 1^st quarter 2019 have been aggregated at syndicate level from estimates supplied by Managing Agents

3)    The Helios outperformance is measured using the result on the capacity at the end of the year - including the capacity of the portfolios acquired which include participations on underperforming syndicates that will subsequently be discarded.  The effect of excluding the acquired capacity and basing the  Helios outperformance against  the mid-point forecasts on the capacity at the start of the underwriting year - the core Helios portfolio - versus the Lloyds Market average is shown below:

	2017	2018
Result / Current mid-point forecast Core Portfolio	-7.66%	-3.40%
Lloyd's Market Average	-10.40%	-3.80%
Helios out performance	2.74%	0.40%

4)    The impact on Helios will be as follows:

a.    The change in the mid point estimates on the retained capacity over the year will be recognised in the Helios income statement in the year to 31^st December 2019.

b.    The overall change in the result will be recognised by Helios in cash at the close of the year of account.

For further information, please contact:

Helios Underwriting plc

Nigel Hanbury - Chief Executive                                               07787530 404 / [e-mail]

Arthur Manners - Chief Financial Officer                                07754 965 917

Stockdale

Robert Finlay                                                                                020 7601 6100

David Coaten

Buchanan                                                                                     020 7466 5000

Helen Tarbet

Henry Wilson

Hannah Ratcliff

About Helios

Helios 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). Helios trades within the Lloyd's insurance market writing approximately £54m of capacity for the 2019 account. The portfolio provides a good spread of business being concentrated in property insurance and reinsurance. For further information please visit www.huwplc.com.

 

END

 

 

MSCGGUUWAUPBGBQ