Resolution plc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Resolution plc | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Public (LSE: RSL) |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
| Key people | Clive Cowdery, Chairman Mike Biggs, CEO |
| Industry | Insurance, Pensions, Life Assurance |
| Revenue | £5,152.2 million (2006) |
| Operating income | £482.3 million (2006) |
| Net income | £531.3 million (2006) |
| Employees | 1,545 (2005) |
| Website | www.resolutionplc.com |
Resolution plc (LSE: RSL) is a UK insurance company headquartered in the City of London. It was formed in September 2005 from the merger of Resolution Life Group Limited and Britannic Group plc. As of 2006 it had over £60 billion of funds under management. In September 2006 it was promoted to the FTSE 100 Index, which is comprised of the hundred largest companies on the London Stock Exchange by market capitalisation.
The Resolution Life group was formed in 2004 to provide a vehicle for life funds that have been closed to new business, but have liabilites extending many years into the future, nicknamed zombie funds.[1] The first purchase was the life insurance business of Royal & SunAlliance, followed by the purchase of Swiss Life's UK business.
In 2005 Resolution Life merged with the FTSE company Britannic Group, who had closed to new business in 2003. The merged company made a long-term agreement with the outsourcing company UISL to provide administration for Resolution's policies.[citation needed]
In 2006 the merged group bought the life business of Abbey National, a transaction of £3.6 billion that brought entry into the FTSE 100.[2]
On March 28, 2007, Private Eye reported that the main beneficiaries of this practice are the managers; Cowdery has made himself £100 million while increasing charges and predicting lower returns for policyholders. High exit charges trap policyholders in funds which do not appear to be run for their benefit. Labour MP Paul Flynn is demanding an investigation by the financial regulator.[citation needed]
On May 30, 2007, Resolution announced a strategic partnership with Capita which will result in the transfer of approximately two thousand staff in Customer Services and IT and a phased outsourcing of back-office customer services to India.[3]
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[edit] Takeover by Pearl Group
On July 25th 2007, Resolution agreed a merger with Friends Provident to create a new entity, Friends Financial, with a market cap of ~ £8.6Bn, however by September 2007 it was announced that Hugh Osmond's Pearl Group, a critic of the proposed merger with Friends Provident, had undergone talks with Swiss Re about a potential deal to take over Resolution,[4] but talks broke down. On October 10, 2007, Pearl made a formal offer of 660 pence per share, worth approximately £4.5 billion, in conjunction with the Royal London Mutual Insurance Society.[5] Standard Life and Swiss Re also entered the bidding for Resolution, and for a brief period on October 26, 2007 their cash and shares bid, worth £4.9 billion was recommended by the board, which called off any deal with Friends Provident.[6] Within a short space of time, Pearl came back with an all cash offer of 720 pence per share. In addition, Hugh Osmond, chief executive of Pearl, now controlled a stake of 24.1% of Resolution's ordinary shares, which would have effectively blocked any planned merger from Standard Life as it would have required 75% approval from shareholders. In mid-November 2007, Standard Life pulled out of the merger and the offer from Pearl was recommended by the board to shareholders.[7]
At the extraordinary general meeting, held on January 8, 2008, the shareholders overwhelmingly agreed to the merger[8]. Having been approved by the Financial Services Authority in mid-April 2008, the deal will close on May 1.[9]
When the merger is effective, the Scottish Provident and Scottish Provident International brands and various in-force blocks of policies will be taken over by the Royal London Group, with the rest going to Pearl. The Resolution brand will remain with Clive Cowdery and the company will change name to Pearl. [10]
[edit] Previous Brands
- Swiss Life (UK)
- Phoenix Assurance Ltd
- Bradford Insurance Company Ltd
- Royal & Sun Alliance Linked Insurances Ltd
- Alba Life Ltd, previously:[11]
- Britannia Life
- FS Assurance
- Crusader Insurance
- Life Association of Scotland
- Foreman and Staff Mutual Benefit Society
- Brittanic Asset Management (previously Brittania Asset Management, now Resolution Asset Management)
- Britannic Assurance Plc
- Britannic Retirement Solutions Ltd
- Britannic Unit Linked Assurance Ltd
- Century Group Plc
- Century Life Plc
- Phoenix Life & Pensions Ltd
- Allianz Cornhill (life operations)[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Zombie Funds
- ^ a b Company history
- ^ Capita strategic partnership announcement
- ^ Barwell, Tim; Thompson, Sarah. "Northern Rock, Lloyds, Resolution: U.K., Irish Stock Preview", New York City, United States: Bloomberg L.P., 2007-09-17. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
- ^ Smith, Shelley. "BP, Carpetright, New Star, Resolution: U.K. Equity Preview", New York City, United States: Bloomberg L.P., 2007-10-10. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
- ^ Jones, Sarah; Thompson, Sarah. "U.K. Stocks Gain for Second Day, Paced by Rio Tinto, BHP, Shell", New York City, United States: Bloomberg L.P., 2007-10-26. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
- ^ Odoi, Antoinette. "Resolution board says yes to £5bn Pearl bid", London, England: The Guardian, 2007-11-17. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
- ^ "Resolution PLC - Result of EGM", New York, United States: Thomson Reuters, 2008-01-08. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
- ^ "UK approves Pearl takeover of Resolution", Reuters, 17 April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
- ^ Recommended Acquisition of Resolution plc (pdf) 44. Resolution plc (2007-11-16). Retrieved on 2008-04-29. “Since Pearl intends to apply the Pearl brand to the Pearl Assets, Pearl and Clive Cowdery have entered into an agreement which provides... for the transfer from Pearl to Clive Cowdery of the right to the Resolution name”
- ^ Alba Life history
