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The owners of Compre Holdings Limited have announced access to greater funds in a deal involving private equity. The arrangement, which they believe will allow the group to take advantage of future investment opportunities, requires the sale of shares in Compre to a specially-created holding company, Oval (2230) Limited (“Oval”). The "buy-in buy-out" arrangement is subject to the approval of the relevant insurance regulators. Under the terms of transaction the current Chairman, Mikko Sinko, will reduce his shareholding and become a non-executive director; Nick Steer will become the main individual shareholder and CEO; and the third of the current owners, Ken Davies, will relinquish his entire shareholding to Oval. The majority of shares in Oval will be owned by Milestone Capital Partners (“Milestone”) and two new executive directors – Will Bridger, formerly a partner in Ernst & Young, and Rhydian Williams, an independent consultant formerly a senior manager in Equitas. Milestone has committed to provide appropriate funding to finance the new management team’s plans for growth.
Announcing the sale and re-investment Mikko Sinko, the current Chairman of Compre Holdings Limited, said, “Through this arrangement we have secured the investment needed to facilitate Compre’s ambitious plans and acquired the services of two very experienced and well-known market practitioners. The owners of Compre have known Will and Rhydian for many years and we are pleased they have pledged their future to the group.”
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Minster and Malvern have petitioned the US Courts for recognition of their Schemes of Arrangement, and entered a motion for a stay of proceedings against them or their assets, in the United States of America, according to the Schemes' official website. The petition and motion are scheduled to be heard at 10am on 27 August 2010 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The relevant papers are available on the Important Documents page of their website. The Companies' schemes were sanctioned by the High Court on Tuesday 16 March 2010. Creditors and policyholders are reminded that the Final Claims Submission Date is 21st September 2010. Notice should have been sent to all Scheme Creditors in accordance with the Schemes' terms. |
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The Scottish courts have upheld an appeal by Scottish Lion Insurance Company to overturn the judgment of Lord Glennie which previously dismissed its proposed solvent Scheme of Arrangement. The Lord Ordinary "erred" in requiring that the solvent Scheme needed a "problem to be solved" as a precondition to Scheme sanction. The actual details of the Scheme itself are yet to be considered. The treatment of long-tail liabilities within the Scheme is a fairness issue to be considered when the Scheme itself is addressed. The dismissal of the Scheme in the first instance was determined in a preliminary hearing which considered, amongst other things, the legitimacy of solvent schemes for insurance companies generally. The full judgment can be found in the attached PDF. Elborne Mitchell have written a paper on the subject (entitled "A Flick of the Tail") which can also be found below.
This issue, as well as the contraversial issue of compensating pleural plaques, will be discussed by leading market figures, lawyers and doctors at the forthcoming ARC Congress on 23rd February, in London. At a price of £298 for the day (and less for members), this event is timely, relevant and represents good value in the current climate. For details of the ARC Congress click here.
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MINSTER - The group of Minster Insurance Companies - which includes Minster Insurance Company Limited, Malvern Insurance Company Limited, The Contingency Insurance Company Limited, Progress Insurance Company Limited, GAN Assurances (formerly GAN Assurances IARD), QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited and The Reliance Fire and Accident Insurance Corporation Limited (together the "Scheme Companies" and each a "Scheme Company") have had their proposed schemes of arrangement sanctioned by the English high Court on Tuesday 16 March 2010. The Effective Date for the Schemes is 25th March 2010 and therefore the Bar Date or Final Claims Submission Date is 21st September 2010.
[Note, GAN Assurances IARD changed its name to GAN Assurances effective from 31 December 2009].
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Jan 8, 2010 - A Judge has rejected an attempt by leading insurers to invalidate Scottish legislation that gives victims of an asbestos related condition the right to claim damages. [The Association of Run-Off Companies will be holding a discussion on this matter at the ARC Congress on 23rd February - download the attached PDF file for more details]
Following a 22-day hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Lord Emslie ruled against the request for a judicial review of the Scottish Act by Aviva, Axa, RSA, and Zurich. The judge said he did not accept that the insurers' complaints came anywhere near establishing the standard of "irrationality" needed to invalidate an Act. [For a detailed analysis of the case Lovells have produced the attached PDF document for your interest.]
The insurers had sought to overturn the Act passed by the Scottish Parliament that last year allowed sufferers from pleural plaques - non-malignant scars on their lungs - to claim compensation. The Scottish legislation reversed a House of Lords ruling in 2007 that pleural plaques, which indicate exposure to asbestos but do not generally cause symptoms, did not amount to a "compensatable injury".
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