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Insurer Pearl puts a full London listing on agenda
Pearl Group, the outfit set up by Hugh Osmond to manage a closed book of insurance policies, is pushing for a full stock market listing in London next year.
It already has a secondary listing, but wants to make it easier for investors for trade its shares and to allow the company to raise funds from UK institutions.
In an update today for the last nine months, Pearl said assets under management rose 7.4% to £70.7 billion thanks to recovering stock markets. Pearl bought Resolution — another book of “zombie” funds which are closed to new business — last year.
The deal ran into problems, though chief executive Jonathan Moss said the cash he has been able to extract from the business since has “allowed us to clear the decks”.
The Financial Services Authority this week confirmed that it had concerns for Pearl's financial position at the height of the banking crisis. Pearl today pointed to a surplus of £1.2 billion as a sign of its solidity.
