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11 February 2010

Peter Wood and management team complete buy-out of Lloyds Banking Group stake in esure.

Peter Wood and the management of esure – one of the UK’s largest providers of car and home insurance – have reached an agreement with Lloyds Banking Group and have bought out the Bank’s major shareholding in the company.

A new company, esure Group Holdings Ltd, representing Peter Wood, other management shareholders and new external investors, has bought the shareholding in esure that was inherited by Lloyds Banking Group after its acquisition of HBOS plc in 2008.

The cash consideration for the deal is slightly in excess of esure’s book value in Lloyds Banking Group’s accounts of £185million.

Funding for the buy-out was obtained through Tosca Penta Investments LP, a new private equity vehicle raised and managed by Penta Capital.

Peter Wood, Chairman and CEO of esure, said: “I am delighted that we have managed to reach a mutually beneficial agreement with Lloyds Banking Group for esure management and external investors to buy-out Lloyds’ majority shareholding. When I set up esure with Halifax plc as a joint venture partner in 2000, no-one could have foreseen the events that would lead to Lloyds Banking Group – who already offer car and home insurance successfully – taking on that role.

This move creates a clean base for both companies to move forward pursuing their own insurance strengths unfettered. The agreement marks the start of a long period of hard work for everyone at esure but we will relish this challenge”.