Sale of UK life business

5 May 2005 07:00

Irish Life & Permanent PLC05 May 2005 Irish Life & Permanent plc agrees on sale of UK life business •City of Westminster Assurance - for €70 million. Move in line with Group's "Ireland First" strategy. Thursday 5th May 2005. Irish Life & Permanent plc has reached agreement withChesnara plc on the sale of the Irish company's closed UK life business, City ofWestminster Assurance, for a price of €70 million (stg£47.5 million). The transaction is conditional upon the approval of the shareholders of Chesnaraplc and the Financial Services Authority in the UK. Closing is expected in Juneof this year. City of Westminster Assurance Ltd. (CWA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of IrishLife & Permanent plc and is held through Irish Life (UK) Holdings plc. CWA wasoriginally acquired by the then Irish Life Group in 1993. The book was closed tonew business in 1995 and in 1996 the business of Irish Life's UK Branch wasintegrated into the company. In the year ended 31st December 2004, City of Westminster Assurance reported apre-tax contribution of €10.1 million (stg£7.0 million). The embedded value ofthe company at that date was €84.6m million (stg£59.6 million) after payment ofthe dividend in respect of 2004 to Irish Life & Permanent plc of €6.5 million(stg£4.6 million). The company has €1,100 million (stg£770 million) in fundsunder management. Irish Life Investment Managers will continue to manage thesefunds. Chesnara plc was listed on the official list in London in May 2004 as theholding company of the life assurance activities formerly owned by CountrywideAssured Group. Its principal subsidiary is called Countrywide Assured whichmanages the run off of the existing book, and also continues to sell and marketGuaranteed Income and Growth Bonds through Independent Financial Advisors anddirectly to investors. Speaking today, Peter Fitzpatrick, Group Finance Director, of Irish Life &Permanent, said that the sale of City of Westminster Assurance was in line withthe Group's Ireland First strategy; "We've been looking at our strategic choicesfor the company for some time. While we've been happy with the financialperformance of the business, it had no long term strategic significance for usand therefore, it was incumbent on us to explore other options. We're very happywith the deal we've reached with Chesnara which we believe meets the needs ofboth policyholders in City of Westminster Assurance and our own shareholders. Welook forward to a continuing relationship with the business through ILIM'sinvolvement in the fund management of the book." Irish Life & Permanent was advised on the transaction by Hawkpoint PartnersLimited. Further Information: PR Advisers:Ray GordonMRPA ConsultantsPh: 01 6788099Ph: 087 2417373 Financial Advisers:Hugh ElwesManaging DirectorHawkpoint PartnersPh: +44 20 7655 4687 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange