Chief executive provides further details on Gable’s future shape
Gable’s chief executive William Dewsall has branded Solvency II “devastating” for small insurers in the company’s latest results, which show the unrated insurer made a loss before tax of £2.3m in the first half of 2016.
He has also given further details of the troubled company’s restructuring plan.
| H1 2016 | H1 2015 | change (%/points) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross written premium (£m) | 61.7 | 51.7 | 19.3 |
| Profit/loss before tax (£m) | -2.3 | -2.4 | n/a |
| Profit/loss on constant currency basis (£m) | 1.1 | 2.6 | -57.7 |
Gable was unable to raise sufficient funds to comply with Solvency II, which came into force on 1 January this year, and has stopped writing new business. It is seeking new capacity for its existing book.
‘Devastating’
Dewsall said in a statement accompanying Gable’s first-half results: “The impact of Solvency II on small insurance companies such as Gable has been devastating.
“The legislation has met widespread criticism, and justifiably so.
“I have made good progress on my undertaking to find alternative capacity for our policyholders and I expect to make an announcement very soon.”
He added: “In the meantime we are preparing for an orderly management of the historical book and to restructure the company so that it is in a suitable form for recapitalisation.”
First-half loss
Gable’s £2.3m loss for the first half of 2016 was a small improvement on the £2.4m loss it made in the same period last year.
Gable blamed the loss mainly on “the impact on sterling following the Brexit vote”, which resulted in a £3.4m foreign exchange loss at group level.
Excluding foreign exchange movements, Gable said it made a profit of £1.1m in the first half of 2016, less than half the £2.6m profit it made on the same basis in the same period last year.
Gross written premiums increased by 19.3% to £61.7m (H1 2015: £51.7m).
Dewsall said: “I am pleased that the first half of 2016 returned to profit on a constant currency basis.”
Restructuring plans
Dewsall also revealed further details about Gable’s future shape. He plans to recapitalise the company. To prepare for recapitalisation he said the company would cut running costs back to a “sustainable level” to create “a lean business”.
He also said that Gable is seeking to replace its resigned nominated adviser Zeus, but that the company will be delisted if it cannot find a new nominated adviser by 13 October.
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