Helios Underwriting Share Discussion Threads

[ian davenport] 06/1/2014 18:25

I have held some since the original issue - doubt they will pay a dividend as the priority I would have thought was to add to size to try and resolve that cost base issue
the business model is entirely at the mercy of how Lloyds performs, there's not a lot they can do about that

[topvest] 06/1/2014 17:51

Yes, gutted on selling this one before it took off. Surprised by the recent rise. It's still too small for the cost base. Will keep watching though as would welcome an opportunity to get back in once 1. the business model shows signing of being sustainable. 2. the price is below NAV and 3. They start a dividend policy.

[topvest] 06/1/2014 17:50

Yes, gutted on selling this one before it took off. Surprised by the recent rise. It's still too small for the cost base. Will keep watching though as would welcome an opportunity to get back in once 1. the business model shows signing of being sustainable and 2. the price is below NAV.

[ian davenport] 06/1/2014 16:08

good to see there is a thread for a relatively minor share like this - watch out for the name change to Helios (I think) soon
Gilston, the capacity auctions now a relatively minor part of the Lloyds market,
Lloyds should have had a great 2013 with no hurricane losses in US, although I guess that will have an impact on renewal rates. The HUW business model should capture that nicely

[gilston] 30/12/2013 17:22

Still going up.

[gilston] 23/9/2013 16:49

More buying ahead of the Lloyds` capacity auctions.

[gilston] 19/8/2013 17:12

Nice uptick, presumably on improving Lloyds syndicate forecasts for 2011 & 2012 increasing nav.

[topvest] 02/8/2013 11:45

I have sold mine at a 50% profit in 12 months. Only had a small holding, but I was hoping they could grow at a quicker rate. Dividend prospects have diminished and latest re-insurance route only gives them £4-5m of firepower. Too small at the moment, but might buy in again if somebody starts selling big style and the price goes significantly below book value again.

[topvest] 29/7/2013 20:38

Yes, interesting. It's a shame that they haven't been able to raise equity though as this would be a very attractive vehicle at 10x the size. Management are a very astute bunch though - their parent company is very profitable.

[gilston] 29/7/2013 19:10

Clever reinsurance arrangement freeing up some cash. The market seems to like it as well.

[topvest] 29/5/2013 13:01

Steady progress being made here - further growth in 2013 to look forward to + there is a hint that they are looking at development plans for the group. Needs a transformational deal here, but there is a good platform and base to deliver something so I will keep with this for another year or so and see what happens.

[topvest] 25/5/2013 09:20

Results next week I suspect, so it will be interesting to see what their plans are now that they have a new CEO in place and a bit more traction.

[gilston] 27/3/2013 17:44

Encouraging aggregate market results from Lloyds today for 2012 with 14.8% return on capital.

[topvest] 26/11/2012 08:21

Another deal today and a similar deal last month with more in the pipeline. A tad disappointing that no dividend again, but probably the correct capital allocation decision at this point. The company needs critical mass and so more deals are needed. That having been said, a dividend policy needs to be introduced to attract funds, so it is a bit of a catch 22 situation. Anyway think this company is run by very wise individuals so am hopeful that they will pull this off.

[topvest] 29/9/2012 08:20

Big jump with the results back to NAV - that will help the CEO execute his strategy. Looks like I timed my purchase well.

[topvest] 28/9/2012 08:42

Well I do like these interims. A new CEO taking shares and providing more syndicate capacity. This should be the start of the expansion phase. This is a very interesting proposition in my opinion. Scope for it to grow very substantially if it can buy other namecos and they are very well placed to do so.

[gilston] 30/8/2012 17:14

This is a useful chunk of various Lloyd`s syndicates capacity. Hopefully a dividend next year. I suppose the discount could entice a buyer for the whole lot if the nav. holds up.

[topvest] 29/8/2012 15:12

Thought I would start a thread here after buying a few of these. Hampden have a very impressive team behind them, if you look at the wider Hampden group. I am hoping that they can grow this vehicle after taking a few years to get the business running.
The company is too small at the moment, but the Chairman has indicated that the time is right to grow, so interested to see what happens. On quite a big discount at the moment, but very volatile to any activity. My view is that this model seems to make sense and could return 15 per cent or so over the cycle. Obviously needs to have bigger scale to do this though. Any thoughts from anyone else holding this or watching?