Helios targets insurance specialist investors to back growth at Lloyd’s

Helios Underwriting is set to raise new capital to help it capitalise on firming insurance and reinsurance pricing in the Lloyd’s marketplace, with insurance specialist institutional investors a key target for the company.

Helios’ CEO Nigel Hanbury told us recently that the time is right for growth at Lloyd’s and that, for Helios, insurance-linked securities (ILS) style capital from institutional investors or ILS specialists is a target to support its growth.

Helios Underwriting is a “consolidator” for private capital at Lloyd’s, being the only listed investment company that provides investors with access to growth and returns from exposure to risks underwritten in the Lloyd’s market.

Now, details of a proposed fundraising of £20 million have been revealed by the company, as it will look to issue new shares to investors in support of its ambitions “to take advantage of the attractive opportunities for growth and shareholder value enhancement in the hardening market.”

Helios said that it has “indications of interest for the substantial part of the Fundraising,” which includes a number of “sizeable orders from insurance specialist institutional investors.”

The company doesn’t explicitly describe these insurance specialist investors, but they could be ILS funds, or certain investors that also back ILS funds, we understand.

The share issuance, which is designed to minimise dilution, targets funding an “increase in the Company’s capacity from pre-emptions, make further LLV acquisitions, to increase Helios’ retained capacity and to participate in upcoming capacity auctions.”

Nigel Hanbury, Chief Executive of Helios, commented on the news, “We are most encouraged by the progress we have made on the potential fundraising thus far, and by the significant interest we have seen from well-known and respected insurance specialist institutions.

“We remain convinced that this is a period of unprecedented opportunity for Helios, with a hardening market coupled with the opportunities we see to increase capacity from pre-emptions, make further LLV acquisitions and participate in capacity auctions, all of which would be value enhancing for our shareholders.”