3rd Feb 2005 10:00
Legal & General Group PLC03 February 2005 3 February 2005 Legal & General Group Plc Sale of 90% stake in Gresham Insurance Company Legal & General Group Plc "Legal & General" today announces that it has agreedin principle to sell its 90% stake in its subsidiary Gresham Insurance CompanyLtd ("Gresham") to Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays"), which already owns theremaining 10% stake, for a consideration of £85m. Legal & General expects to book an after-tax profit of £26m, which will bereported in its 2005 results. The capital released from the sale of Gresham willbe available for redeployment elsewhere within the Legal & General Group. Robin Phipps, Legal & General's Group Director (UK Operations), said "TheGeneral Insurance relationship with Barclays has been a long and fruitful onefor Legal & General, delivering a good return on capital. The sale of ourinterest in Gresham releases capital which will be available to supportcontinued growth in both our core General Insurance and Life businesses. Ourwider relationship with Barclays continues to be strong." Mike Rogers, managing director, Retail Banking, Barclays, said "The Greshamjoint-venture with Legal & General, first set up with The Woolwich in 1995, hasserved both parties well over many years. We are grateful to all those involvedwith Gresham for the support and good service they have always provided both toBarclays as an organisation and to our customers." Enquiries to: Media: John Morgan, Head of Public Relations 020 7528 6213 Anthony Carlisle, Citigate Dewe Rogerson 07973 611888 Investors: Peter Horsman, Head of Investor Relations 020 7528 6362 Notes to editors: 1. Gresham's Gross Written Premiums (GWP) in 2003 were £147m. Legal & General Insurance's total GWP in 2003, including Gresham's GWP, were £426m. Gresham's post-tax profits in 2003 were £3m. 2. The sale consideration and the after tax profit are subject to final audit. 3. All staff affected by the sale of Gresham will be redeployed to other roles within Legal & General. 4. The transaction contemplated by this announcement is expected to complete on 31 March 2005, subject to contract and FSA approval. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Legal & General