B.p Marsh Regulatory News (BPM)

Date: 19 November 2020

B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc

("B.P. Marsh", "the Company" or "the Group")

Investee Company Update - Lilley Plummer Risks Limited

B.P. Marsh & Partners Plc (AIM: BPM), the specialist investor in early stage financial services businesses, is pleased to announce that one of its investments, Lilley Plummer Risks Limited ("Lilley Plummer"), the nascent specialist Lloyd's broker, is on course to produce brokerage fees in excess of US $2m in its first year of trading, exceeding its strategic goals more quickly than originally planned.

GROWTH OF LILLEY PLUMMER

Whilst Lilley Plummer set out to be a Marine broker first and foremost, the business has expanded its product offering into a number of niche and diverse areas. It has placed the insurance programmes for a number of fishing fleets operating off the coast of Taiwan as well as providing risk solutions for high profile ship owners in Greece, Turkey and the Middle East.

Lilley Plummer has also responded to the demand for coverage in war stricken areas, and has seen an increasing number of enquiries for coverage for oil tankers operating in the straits of Hormuz.

Whilst initially setting up as a broker based in London, Lilley Plummer have quickly broadened the geography of their work, placing business from Greece, elsewhere in Europe, the Gulf, the Middle East, and the Far East. In October 2020, Lilley Plummer opened an office in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Lilley Plummer have attracted a number of new personnel since they began operations, adding significant experience and capabilities to their management team. 

The most recent of these is Steve Nagle, who is joining the business on 1st January 2021. Steve has 16 years' experience in the London Market, starting at Benfield , before moving to Aon where he spent 4 years as a technician and broker focusing on Ports and Terminals and Afghan business. Steve also spent time with Lloyd and Partners, Chesterfield and Roanoke. He will bring to Lilley Plummer a wealth of experience across Terrorism, Political Violence and Energy insurance, in both the US and the Middle East.

LILLEY PLUMMER'S "VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE"

Lilley Plummer have said:-

"We are delighted with the success of Lilley Plummer in its first year. Our partnership with B.P. Marsh has enabled us to grow our existing Shipping portfolio as planned and also diversify into new product lines, as demonstrated within our original business strategy. We believe this strong base now created, which has been facilitated by B.P Marsh, will enable us to execute our future ambitious plans of continuing to quickly and diligently expand the company, in terms of both personnel and areas of expertise"

Since the Group's investment, Lilley Plummer have delivered their business plan. They have entered the market when rates are hardening and they are well positioned to take advantage of this and exceed their strategic goals more quickly than initially planned. Their business has grown from a standing start, to be on track to produce brokerage fees in excess of US$2m in their first year of trading.

This is an excellent achievement by the Lilley Plummer team and we are confident in their ability to grow in the coming years.

The Group's Chief Investment Officer and Nominee Director on the Board of Lilley Plummer, Dan Topping, commented "B.P. Marsh are very pleased with how LPR has performed since our investment in 2019. Lilley Plummer is on track to achieve its 2020 budget, which is an excellent achievement, especially given the global impact of Covid-19.

"The specialist nature of Lilley Plummer within the insurance sector corresponds with our investment approach in seeking partnerships with skilled management teams. We look forward to further supporting their growth over the coming years"

BACKGROUND ON LILLEY PLUMMER AND B.P. MARSH'S INVESTMENT

B.P. Marsh invested in Lilley Plummer in October 2019 with the Company taking a 30% equity stake for a total cash consideration of £1m, in a mixture of Redeemable and Non-Redeemable Preference shares.

Following the introduction to B.P. Marsh, the transaction completed over the course of 8 weeks seamlessly, given the natural fit from both B.P. Marsh and Lilley Plummer.

Our new partners welcomed our long term investment approach, demonstrating that we would not seek to impose exit pressures, but would prefer to back the Management team towards an eventual, mutually beneficial exit route, maximising value for all parties involved.

The Group's track record in the sector demonstrated its ability to assist Lilley Plummer in the initial start-up period, being able to provide back office support where required and sharing with Lilley Plummer the Group's extensive list of industry contacts. 

B.P Marsh's comprehensive understanding of the insurance sector and its past experiences in assisting similar businesses to reach their full potential will also be of benefit to Lilley Plummer.

Additionally, our appetite for a minority investment allows the founders and management team to retain a significant shareholding, aligning both investors and management from day one.

The experienced management team at Lilley Plummer is formed of Stuart Lilley and Dan Plummer. During their respective careers, Dan Plummer gained valuable experience across the marine market having held senior positions at CR Marine & Aviation SRL, Windsor Partners LLP and Howden Insurance Brokers Ltd. Stuart Lilley held roles at International Risk Solutions, FP Marine and latterly Howden. The two partners have over two decades of experience in the London and International Marine Market.

Stuart and Dan previously established a joint venture called Matrix Marine Brokers ("Matrix Marine") with Matrix Group, a large international (Re)Insurance broking business headquartered in Europe. At the time, Matrix Marine was the only Greek registered Lloyd's broker, with Marine being a completely new class of business for Matrix Group.

This new business opportunity came to B.P. Marsh via its wide network of contacts, as a "hive off" from a larger transaction, demonstrating the extent of our network and our ability to produce deal flow. 

For further information:

Notes to Editors:

B.P. Marsh's current portfolio contains seventeen companies. More detailed descriptions of the portfolio can be found at www.bpmarsh.co.uk.

Since formation over 25 years ago, the Company has assembled a management team with considerable experience both in the financial services sector and in managing private equity investments. Many of the directors have worked with each other in previous roles, and all have worked with each other for approaching ten years.

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