R&q Insurance Share Discussion Threads

[gswredland] 15/11/2019 16:44

Yes strange eh?

[red ninja] 15/11/2019 16:21

I naively though they might hold at around the £2 level, but once again it seems they are heading South. I am not sure why though.

[lord gnome] 09/10/2019 14:48

A bit of light profit taking today, knocking the top of what has now become a very overweight holding. Nothing wrong here. I think the shares are just drawing breath after a very good run on the back of a press tip.

[jonwig] 08/10/2019 11:37

Completion of Sandell acquisition. Paid $25m (possibly more under certain conditions) for $40.8m of net assets.

So does this mean that they book an immediate negative goodwill profit of $15.8m? Possibly, but Sandell made a loss of $2.7m last year So is the net asset value net of all expected future losses? (Because it's insurance, losses could be more or less than figured out.)

I don't know! But I think I know where to ask.

[speedsgh] 07/10/2019 08:14

In the words of Morten Harket #BlueSky

[lord gnome] 03/10/2019 07:33

Correct. Makes today's tick up look even better. My one bit of blue yesterday amongst all the carnage.

[jonwig] 03/10/2019 07:14

According to my notes, we are "xd" today to the tune of 3.8p. (Payment on 16th.)

[red ninja] 02/10/2019 11:21

Sounds like a useful addition to the staff :-



2 October 2019
R&Q appoints Mike Walker from KPMG as Chief Restructuring Officer

Randall & Quilter Investments Holdings Ltd ("R&Q"), the non-life legacy insurance investor and capacity provider of US and European program business is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Walker, former partner at KPMG.

A newly created senior executive role, Mike Walker will be responsible for optimising the structures of R&Q's acquired discontinued business assets.

The new position comes at a time when R&Q is enjoying success in executing on its strategy of acquiring larger legacy (re)insurance portfolios where there are opportunities for releasing excess capital.

Mike Walker joins R&Q from KPMG where he was a Partner for over 15 years and occupied a number of senior roles, most recently as Global Head of Insurance Restructuring. In that capacity, he has been involved in some of the largest insurance restructurings in the UK and internationally and has also worked extensively on providing advice to companies with discontinued insurance business, dealing with all aspects of operations including transition to run off, strategic reviews and assessing finality options. He has also been involved in a number of business transfers and has been responsible for the restructuring - through the scheme of arrangement process - of over 150 companies and run off portfolios.

Ken Randall R&Q Executive Chairman, commented "We are delighted that Mike is joining R&Q's senior management team. The recent completion of our Global Re transaction - the largest acquisition in R&Q's history - demonstrates that we are enjoying success in delivering on our strategy of acquiring larger legacy portfolios. As a consequence, Mike's restructuring experience will be of great value to the firm in optimising the structures of our acquisition portfolio".

Mike Walker added: "I have known R&Q since its formation in 1991 and have great admiration for Ken Randall, Alan Quilter and their colleagues.

"After 30+ years at KPMG, I am delighted to be joining R&Q and am looking forward to managing the firm's acquired discontinued business assets".

Mike Walker joins R&Q on 7 October

[lord gnome] 02/10/2019 07:13

A fair bit of early buying interest. Questor clearly has a big following. Nice to be here ahead of the crowd for once.

[lord gnome] 02/10/2019 06:15

If RQIH can make another 90% I won't be disappointed. Should give the share price a nice boost today.

[jonwig] 02/10/2019 05:53

We are Questor's new 'tip of the year':



It follows Gervais Williams' recommendation:

Mr Williams said R&Q’s intermediary business had announced a series of new contracts recently: 14 in America with an estimated “gross written premium” of $238m (£194m), plus a further four worth $95m expected shortly, and 16 in Europe with a gross written premium of £281m plus a further six worth £52m expected soon.

“The company says it has a pipeline of further programmes with premiums of $400m a year to come,” the fund manager added. R&Q’s commission is typically 5pc of the premium.

“We expect the growth momentum to continue,” he said. “In time this side of the business will dominate, with its more regular and repeatable earnings growing into the future. We really like stocks like this with resilient growth prospects at a time when global growth is slowing.”

[speedsgh] 25/9/2019 07:27

A.M. Best rating -

Accredited's growth momentum continues following A.M. Best Group rating affirmation and increase in financial category size

Accredited Surety & Casualty Company, Inc. ('ASC'), the Florida-headquartered US insurance company that is licensed to write admitted P&C business throughout the US, has had its A.M. Best Group rating of A- (Excellent) affirmed and its financial size rating upgraded to IX ($250-$500 million) from VIII.

Accredited Insurance (Europe) Limited and its UK Branch also benefits from the enhanced rating from A.M. Best...

... The A.M. Best Group upgrade and rating affirmation will provide further support and growth momentum to ASC's focus on program underwriting on behalf of US MGAs. This is because, in addition to the AM Best A- (Excellent) financial strength rating, counterparties often require a minimum group rating. It is especially important in program underwriting partnerships where the financial strength rating of ASC is an essential indication of the balance sheet strength of the company and its ability to stand behind its commitments. With a IX group rating, ASC is now on par with its larger US competitors.

Ken Randall, R&Q Executive Chairman, commented: "We are delighted to receive the Group upgrade by AM Best. In two years, R&Q has become a leading provider of high-quality program underwriting capacity in both the US and Europe. Crucial to this offering is our AM Best A- (Excellent) financial strength rating which is a badge of confidence that our partners can have in R&Q's capital strength and has been a driving force in our growth."

Todd Campbell, ASC's President and CEO, commented: "The upgraded Group strength rating will generate yet more interest from prospective business partners keen to explore underwriting partnerships with Accredited in the US. We expect another positive impact as Accredited's unique offering - high quality, fully licenced and AM Best A- rated capacity - is clearly valued by our partners".

[jonwig] 13/9/2019 07:02

IC covers the results.

I missed this bit:

Joint founder and executive chairman Ken Randall says MGAs, which act as a “counter-balance to the lumpiness” of legacy business, could eventually contribute the lion’s share of income.

Conclusion:

The shares are trading at nine times forward earnings – a discount to the three-year historical average multiple. That rating does not reflect the group’s ample cash resources and the increasing diversity of its income stream. Buy.

[jonwig] 11/9/2019 07:11

Always good to get the ED reports, thanks!

forecast eps of 18.3p for FY19, falling to 15.9p in FY20. (Presumably the large legacy acquisition.) If PER is a useful measure, around 10x is too cheap. If NTA is your choice, it's been at a higher premium in the past.

[edmonda] 11/9/2019 06:48

Latest note can be seen here:

[speedsgh] 06/9/2019 16:33

jonwig - What struck me most when looking at the Investment Income & Other Income figures, apart from the obvious exceptional Investment Income in H1 2019, was how much Other Income has fallen away in the past couple of years. It is this that has impacted the drop in Total Income in FY17 & FY18. Not clear as to the reason for this but might it be linked to the simplification of the group's business model which resulted in the sale of certain non-core operations?

From Interim Results in Sept 2015:
"The Board is fully committed to improving the financial performance of the Group and has launched a review of the business aimed at simplifying the Group's business model to focus on core areas of profitable growth."

[jonwig] 06/9/2019 15:41

speeds - thanks for that table: some pretty volatile numbers.

I wonder if part of the investment income rise is down to the big cash influx seen mostly in H2 last and is now earning income. This cash will probably have come from the legacy acquisitions.

Not sure, as I haven't had much chance yet to study a pretty complex statement!

[speedsgh] 06/9/2019 14:47

Also interesting to look at flows of Investment Income & Other Income over the last 10yrs...

INVESTMENT INCOME
2019: H1 16,030 H2
2018: H1 2,620 H2 2,810 total 5,430
2017: H1 3,781 H2 4,406 total 8,187
2016: H1 5,935 H2 2,041 total 7,976
2015: H1 2,301 H2 -135 total 2,166
2014: H1 4,131 H2 1,495 total 5,626
2013: H1 1,776 H2 5,342 total 7,118
2012: H1 5,513 H2 6,483 total 11,996
2011: H1 5,618 H2 740 total 6,358
2010: H1 4,595 H2 3,935 total 8,530
2009: H1 3,624 H2 7,798 total 11,422

OTHER INCOME
2019: H1 4,412 H2
2018: H1 5,738 H2 6,222 total 11,960
2017: H1 3,644 H2 4,510 total 8,154
2016: H1 12,534 H2 12,309 total 24,843
2015: H1 24,093 H2 19,861 total 43,954
2014: H1 16,117 H2 23,443 total 39,560
2013: H1 21,830 H2 18,748 total 40,578
2012: H1 17,611 H2 18,498 total 36,109
2011: H1 13,241 H2 16,855 total 30,096
2010: H1 10,784 H2 12,786 total 23,570
2009: H1 6,702 H2 7,658 total 14,360

TOTAL INCOME (INVESTMENT INCOME + OTHER INCOME)
H1 2019: investment 16,030 other 4,412 total H1 20,442
2018: investment 5,430 other 11,960 total 17,390
2017: investment 8,187 other 8,154 total 16,341
2016: investment 7,976 other 24,843 total 32,819
2015: investment 2,166 other 43,954 total 46,120
2014: investment 5,626 other 39,560 total 45,186
2013: investment 7,118 other 40,578 total 47,696
2012: investment 11,996 other 36,109 total 48,075
2011: investment 6,358 other 30,096 total 36,454
2010: investment 8,530 other 23,570 total 32,100
2009: investment 11,422 other 14,360 total 25,782

[speedsgh] 06/9/2019 14:25

Yes, some interesting comments contained within the Investment Income section...

The investment performance was driven largely by a combination of the strong recovery of our equity portfolio, << which we have since exited >>...

We are focused on capital preservation and absolute return. As such, if we are not being paid to take risk then we will not take it just to chase yield. Our portfolio still contains a large proportion of cash and T-bills as we keep our powder dry for attractive opportunities and we believe we are well positioned to do so.

We expect a good performance in H2 2019, albeit at a lower percentage return compared to H1 2019.

[this_is_me] 06/9/2019 07:37

LOL; as long as they're counting the money!

[jonwig] 06/9/2019 06:26

Michael Smith retires as a director and says, "I wish the entire team and especially Ken and Alan, continued success in delivering value for shareholders and having fun at the same time."

So RQIH is a fun business - I'd imagined more like this ...

[this_is_me] 06/9/2019 06:25

A very impressive results statement. There are plenty of opportunities to profitably expand the business.

[jonwig] 06/9/2019 06:22

Interim results:



They seem to give the lie to the idea that the market "knew something" - they clearly didn't know the results would be this good! "This was an exceptional six months for the Group".

What I can't understand is that H1 PBT of £33.1m and eps of 19.22p means that "The Board expects that full year results for 2019 will be in line with market expectations". According to Sharecast these are for FY £42.2m and 18.4p!

Maybe looking at the Investment Income comments gives a clue to a lower H2 contribution?

Also NTA has risen to 133.2p from 123.6p at 31/12.

[red ninja] 21/8/2019 11:13

All sounds very positive in the Program Underwriting partnerships :-