22nd Oct 2007 16:05
Jelf Group PLC22 October 2007 Jelf Group plc ("Jelf" or "the Group") 22 October 2007 PRE-CLOSE TRADING STATEMENT Jelf Group plc, an independent full-service brokerage that supports businessesand related individuals, will announce its preliminary results for the yearended 30 September, 2007 in late January, 2008. The board is pleased to provide the following update and to confirm that tradingresults are in line with expectations for the full year. MARKET CONDITIONS Jelf continues to operate in a competitive insurance market and is working tooffset these conditions through a multi-pronged approach: o capturing benefits from economies of scaleo generating income via cross-selling to existing clients and through new business activityo seeking internal productivity gains from the use of technology "We believe that there is some evidence of insurance rate increases emerging inthe market. A programme of migrating our insurance business onto one singleadministration system is ahead of expectations, providing a platform for futureexpansion. We now have in excess of £1 billion of funds under advice throughour employee benefits and wealth management businesses, of which over £100million has been transferred across to industry fund/wrap platforms," commentsAlex Alway, chief executive of Jelf Group. GROWTH STRATEGY During the year, Jelf Group has continued to make good progress against its twinobjectives of delivering strong profitable growth organically and throughselective acquisitions: • Organic growth - Jelf has continued to see strong organic growth from cross-selling opportunities within the enlarged group, particularly robust within employee benefits and healthcare • Acquisitions - Jelf is focusing on acquiring profitable insurance and healthcare corporate books, also looking to acquire financial services talent. Jelf Group has made good progress to reduce its net debt position following theLampier acquisition and confidently expects to finance all expected deferredconsideration payments from operational cash flows. KEY ACQUISITIONSKey acquisitions during the financial year were: • January 2007 o SPS Wellbeing (SPS), corporate healthcare broker o Adds £80m of Gross Written Premiums (GWP) in corporate healthcare insurance brokerage, consolidating Jelf Group's position as a leading healthcare intermediary. o The integration of SPS and Jelf Corporate Healthcare to form Jelf Wellbeing has now taken place ahead of the original integration plan. o The business is performing in line with expectations. • July 2007 o Lampier, insurance broker with specialist professional indemnity business o Increases Jelf Group's total insurance GWP by £35m to £150m and consolidates the group's position as a leading independent insurance brokerage. o This business is performing in line with expectations. The board will provide a detailed trading report when it announces preliminaryresults in January 2008 and looks forward to the coming year with confidence. - Ends - Contact: Jelf Group plc 01454 272 713Alex Alway, Group Chief Executive Pelham PRPolly Fergusson 0207 743 6362 Daniel StewartAlastair Cade 0207 776 6550 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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