10th Nov 2005 07:00
Advent Capital (Holdings) PLC10 November 2005 Advent Capital (Holdings) PLC ("Advent" or the "Company") Notification of Changes to the Board Advent, the specialist Lloyd's Insurer, is pleased to announce the appointmentof Peter Stormonth Darling to its Board as a Non-Executive Director withimmediate effect. Mr Stormonth Darling, 73, has spent most of his career in the investmentbusiness and was Chairman of Mercury Asset Management Group (now Merrill LynchInvestment Managers) from 1979-1992, and a Non-Executive Director until 1998. Hecontinues his involvement with Merrill Lynch as a director of Merrill LynchAsset Allocator plc, and is a Director of a number of other companies as well asbeing a member of the Investments Committee of the United Nations Pension Fundand a member of the Executive Committee of the International Institute forStrategic Studies. The Board also announces the resignation of Stanley Zax, one of theNon-Executive Directors, effective as of today. Mr Zax had been a member of the Board since 1999 and has contributedsignificantly to the development of the Company during this period, culminatingin the successful flotation earlier this year on AIM. Mr Zax now wishes tospend more time concentrating on his own group of companies, which continue tosupport Advent as a major shareholder. The Board would like to thank Mr Zax for his commitment to the company and theimportant role he played in Advent's recent development. Commenting on the changes to the Board, Brian Caudle, Chairman of Advent, said: "We are delighted that Peter has agreed to join the Board as a Non-ExecutiveDirector. This appointment will strengthen the skill base of the Board and hisexperience will be invaluable to Advent as it enters its next stage ofdevelopment. I would also like to personally thank Stanley for his support of Advent over thepast 6 years and wish him all the best for the future." The Board now comprises: Brian Caudle (Chairman)Keith Thompson (Chief Operating Officer)Cliff Murphy (Group Finance Director)Trevor Ambridge**Brian Rowbotham*Ray Salter*Peter Stormonth Darling* * Independent Non-Executive** Non-Independent Non-Executive Please find below the information required under Schedule 2 (g) of the AIMRules: Full name: Peter Stormonth DarlingAge: 73Previous names: Peter Michael Stormonth-Darling Listed below are the companies that Mr Stormonth Darling has been a director ofat any time in the past 5 years: Current Directorships: Alta Advisers Limited (Chairman)Atlas Capital LimitedGalahad Gold PLCHoward de Walden Estates LimitedInternational Institute for Strategic StudiesMerrill Lynch Asset Allocator PLCWelbeck Land Limited (Chairman) Overseas Directorships: Atlas Capital Group Holdings S.A. (Chairman) (Luxembourg)Greenwich Associates (U.S.)Guardian Capital Group (Canada)LR Global Fund Limited (U.S.) Previous Directorships (last 5 years): Aegon U.K. (formerly Scottish Equitable) (until 2003)Merrill Lynch European Investment Trust (until 2004)Merrill Lynch U.K. Investment Trust PLC (until 2002) Mr Stormonth Darling was a Non-Executive Director of a private bank in Canada,Canadian Commercial Bank, which failed in the late 1970's or early 1980's. Save as disclosed in this announcement, there are no further matters set out inSchedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules which are required to be disclosed. EnquiriesAdvent Capital HoldingsKeith Thompson Tel: 020 7743 8200Chief Operating Officer Pelham Public RelationsCharles Vivian Tel: 020 7743 6672Gavin Davis Tel: 020 7743 6677 Advent Capital (Holdings) PLC, which listed on AIM in June 2005, is a leadingLloyd's insurer which manages and participates on Syndicate 780. The Syndicateis predominantly a short tail property reinsurance and insurance syndicatespecialising in catastrophe business. Notes: Biography Peter Stormonth Darling (Non-Executive Director) Mr Stormonth Darling (73) is a law graduate from Oxford University (MA Honours).He was Chairman of Mercury Asset Management Group from 1979 - 1992, and aNon-Executive Director from 1992 to 1998. He continues as a Director of MerrillLynch Asset Allocator plc. He is a member of the Investments Committee of the United Nations Pension Fund,a member of the Executive Committee of the International Institute for StrategicStudies, and a trustee of the World Monuments Fund (US) and the World MonumentsFund in Britain. Advent Details • Advent listed on AIM in June 2005 raising a total of £65 million. • The new capital is to be used to provide permanent support for the underwriting on Syndicate 780 for 2006 and onwards. • Advent manages and participates on Syndicate 780 through Advent Underwriting Limited (a Lloyd's managing agency) and Advent Capital Limited (a corporate member of Lloyd's). • Advent Underwriting Limited, which was formed in 1975, has operated in the Lloyd's market for thirty years. • Syndicate 780 has outperformed the Lloyd's market in 27 of the last 29 closed years of account returning an average profit of 18.5% compared with the Lloyd's average of 1.3%. • Syndicate 780's latest forecast results as at 30 June 2005 were: • 2003 account - profit 25% - 30% of underwriting capacity (total capacity £228 million) • 2004 account - loss 12.5% - 17.5% of underwriting capacity (total capacity £216 million) • Advent's management is led by Brian Caudle (Executive Chairman and Director of Underwriting) and Keith Thompson (Chief Operating Officer). 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