15th Sep 2015 08:17
LONDON (Alliance News) - Personal lines insurer Hastings Group Holdings Ltd on Tuesday said it will raise GBP180.0 million via an initial public offering on the London Main Market.
Hastings did not provide any details on the number of share or the pricing of the shares it will issue, but said that its current major shareholder, US investment bank, Goldman Sachs Inc, will retain a significant indirect stake in the company following the issue.
Goldman holds the stake via a holding company which also includes founder shareholders and other members of Hastings management. Hastings said the holding company will continue to be its largest single shareholder following the IPO.
Credit Suisse Securities will be joint global co-ordinator, joint bookrunner and sole sponsor of the float, while Goldman Sachs itself will act as joint global co-ordinator and joint bookrunner. Barclays Bank PLC and HSBC Bank PLC will be joint bookrunners.
Press reports prior to the confirmation of the float suggested Hastings will have a market capitalisation of GBP1.5 billion upon listing, which would make it the third-largest company by that measure to have floated in London this year so far, only behind Nomad Foods Ltd and Auto Trader Group PLC.
Hastings is a general insurance provider, primarily for the motor market where it provides cover for cars, vans and bikes, and also for the home insurance space. It said that as of June 30, it had a 5.5% share of the UK private car insurance market and 1.9 million live customer policies, adding it is targeting 2.5 million customers by the end of 2017. Operating profit in 2014 was GBP105.7 million.
Hastings said it will use the proceeds of the IPO to redeem some of its debt and to strengthen its capital base in preparation for the new Solvency II requirements for insurance companies.
"Today's announcement of our intention to float marks the next stage in Hastings' growth story. With the support and dedication of our colleagues, we have built a dynamic, digitally enabled insurance provider that is designed for the way customers now buy insurance, a company that is small enough to remain agile but big enough to win," said Gary Hoffman, the former Northern Rock chief who is now Hastings' chief executive.
"We believe our refreshingly straightforward approach to insurance will enable Hastings to continue to deliver long-term profitable growth as we drive towards achieving our target of over 2.5 million customers by the end of 2017," Hoffman added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.