Compre, the independent insurance and reinsurance legacy specialist, has received approval from the Maltese Financial Services Authority to establish an insurance company in Malta.
The group is a leading European insurance legacy specialist with over 30 years of experience in the provision of insurance and reinsurance legacy business solutions
The company in Malta will be formed by transferring the domicile of London & Leith Insurance SE from the UK to Malta.
The move will allow Compre greater flexibility to undertake transactions, and will enhance its ability to provide finality for customers transferring portfolios, or selling books of business or entire companies.
At the same time, the company will be established as a Protected Cell Company, which enables it to form legally secure cells containing various assets and liabilities within a single corporate entity.
London & Leith Insurance PCC SE is formed for the purpose of acquiring portfolios of discontinued non-life insurance and reinsurance business. The move will allow Compre greater flexibility to undertake transactions, and will enhance its ability to provide finality for customers transferring portfolios, or selling books of business or entire companies.
In parallel, Compre has secured additional funds for further acquisitions via a revolving credit facility with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Nick Steer, CEO of Compre, said: “Gaining permission to provide finality solutions out of Malta, and the ability to use individual cells for particular business, marks an important step in the next phase of Compre’s development. This is the culmination of plans we have had for many years. With the added ability to transfer new and existing portfolios into Malta, Compre becomes a far more agile business. We are in a stronger position to meet demand and capitalise on new run-off opportunities. Meanwhile, the agreement with RBS significantly boosts our firepower for acquisitions of a broader type and scale.”
During the course of 2016, the Group successfully completed five portfolio acquisitions, two of which were announced in early 2017. As at December 31, 2016, the group - which has total assets of £11 million - acquired 10 companies in runoff and completed 24 individual portfolio deals.
The move to Malta was not made in response to Brexit, Steer noted, and had been an intention long before the UK referendum, but he added that a further regulated presence within the European Union would not be a disadvantage for the company.
This is the second major company to set up a PCC in Malta: Munich RE was approved a few weeks ago.
Read: Munich RE gets insurance licence in Malta