Motor broker and insurer expected to announce £150m Goldman Sachs investment
Hastings Direct could announce a £150m investment from Goldman Sachs as soon as this week, according to reports.
GS Capital Partners, Goldman’s private equity arm, will make the investment for just under 50% of Hastings, Sky News has reported. New York-based managing director at Goldman Sumit Rajpal is expected to join Hastings’ board as part of the deal.
Hastings will announce the investment alongside the launch of a bond issue to raise around £420m.
In total, the transactions will value the insurance company at £720m.
Hastings Insurance Group comprises UK-based broker Hastings Insurance Services and Gibraltar-based insurer Advantage Insurance Company. It made a pre-tax profit of £61m last year, up from £31m (2011). Customer numbers increased by 18% year-on-year to 1,145,000 and gross premiums placed by the group increased by 19% to £423m.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
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