Beazley joined the ranks of quoted Lloyd's vehicles when it floated on the London Stock Exchange this week.

The group, the holding company of Lloyd's managing agent Beazley Furlonge, floated at 73p on Tuesday and was trading later in the day at 78p. The placing valued the group at £167.5m.

Beazley Furlonge manages Syndicate 623 and last year was the largest private independent managing agent at Lloyd's.

The cash raised will go into the syndicate's underwriting across its business in specialty lines, property, reinsurance and marine.

The syndicate wrote gross premiums of £355m in 2001, when it earned £179m of net premiums and lost £17m on a combined ratio of 108%.

For the first six months this year, it wrote gross premiums of £232m, earned £134m of net premiums and made a £9m profit on a combined ratio of 98%. Its net 11 September loss is estimated at £21m as at 30 June.

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