16 Sep 2008 07:00
For Immediate Release
16 September 2008
Acquisition of Santam Europe Limited
Charles Taylor Consulting plc ("CTC" or the "Company"), through its wholly owned subsidiary. LCL Acquisitions Limited, announces that it has acquired 100% of the share capital of Santam Europe Limited from Santam International Limited.
Santam Europe Limited is an Irish resident company which previously wrote UK and Irish motor and property insurance business and is now closed to new business. CTC is already providing run-off administration services to Santam Europe Limited.
The transaction is expected to be marginally earnings enhancing for CTC in 2008 (see note 3).
The consideration for the acquisition was £1 in cash plus a deferred cash element of between £nil and £10m, with the first £6.8m of distributions and 75% of distributions above £6.8m payable to the vendor and a cap of £10m on total consideration. At this stage, it is uncertain how much, if any, deferred consideration may ultimately be payable.
At 31 December 2006, the date of the most recent published accounts and a year when new business was still being written, Santam Europe Limited had gross assets of £28.8m and made a profit before tax of £0.4m.
At the time of CTC's interim results announcement, the Company reported that there were signs of an increase in the number of financially viable acquisition opportunities for the run-off division. The acquisition of Santam Europe Limited demonstrates this and CTC continues to explore further opportunities to develop this division by acquisition.
Commenting on the acquisition, John Rowe, Chief Executive, said: "I am delighted to see the hard work done by those in our Dublin office and elsewhere rewarded with a completed acquisition. This should stand us in good stead in terms of our objective of seeing further acquisitions completed in the near future. We intend to ensure that the run off of Santam Europe Limited is handled as efficiently as possible to benefit policyholders and all concerned. "
For further information, please contact
John Rowe, Chief Executive
020 3320 2200
john.rowe@ctcplc.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
CTC provides management and insurance-related services to both buyers of insurance and insurance companies. The group's activities are subject to the insurance cycle, albeit in different ways. Further information on the group can be found at www.charlestaylorconsulting.com