Lloyd's insurance company Goshawk has suffered a drop in pre-tax profits of almost £1m from £6.9m in 1998 to £6m at December 31, 1999.
Operating profits for the stock market listed group also fell – from £5.5m in 1998 to £4.2m last year.
Gross written premiums for the group, however, more than doubled from £41.8m in 1998 to £85.4m in 1999.
This was partly due to Goshawk – which already owned syndicate 2021 and part of syndicate 102 – buying up the remaining capacity in syndicate 102.
The company also saw an increase in business written.
The completion of its own managed syndicates means Goshawk has created the first fully integrated insurance company in Lloyd's listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Syndicate 2021 has also been merged with 102 for 2000, to increase its underwriting capacity to £156m.
Goshawk provides the capital to support £130m of the £156m syndicate capacity, with quota share partners covering the balance of £26m.
Goshawk said it will continue to write a broadly-spread account of marine, some non-marine and speciality classes of business.
It added that its war and political risk consortium formed recently, is expected to become a major class of business.
David Hooker, Goshawk chairman, said: "While our focus of attention is on organic growth, the management team is actively looking for opportunities to take part in consolidation in the sector."
