Alchemy offloads Cathedral for £266m

It is understood the deal netted the special situations investor a 2.5x return. Alchemy acquired a 63% stake in the company towards the end of 2006 in a transaction that valued Cathedral at around £113m.

Lancashire, which is registered in Bermuda but headquartered in London, specialises in aviation, energy, marine and property insurance.

Company
Cathedral is an underwriter in the Lloyd's of London insurance market. Based in London, the company employs 64 staff, of which 14 are underwriters. It underwrites property reinsurance, property business, aviation & satellite, contingency and cargo insurance and reinsurance.

The insurer is rated in the top five performers of more than 90 Lloyd's syndicates in terms of underwriting performance. Its average net loss ratio is understood to be just 60% since 2004. Last year it generated net profit of £11.6m.

People
Peter Scales is chief executive of Cathedral, John Lynch is CFO and John Hamblin is chief underwriting officer.

Advisers
Vendors – Kinmont Advisory (Corporate finance); Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (Corporate finance).

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• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Financials
• Alchemy Partners LLP
• United Kingdom
• Trade sale