Motor insurer Sabre to float in December

Specialist motor insurer Sabre is planning to float on the London stock exchange in December, the company has revealed in a stock exchange filing outlining its plans.

The company is planning to raise gross proceeds of £213m from the float – most of which will be used to buy shares from current owners.

Sabre had been expected to pursue an IPO since September, after talks with prospective buyers stalled.

The initial public offering (IPO) will comprise an issue of new shares and a sale of existing shares held by Sabre’s private equity owner BC partners, co-founder Angus Ball, certain members of Sabre’s management team and other existing shareholders.

The company will raise gross primary proceeds of £213m, of which £206m will be used to buy the shares owned by Sabre’s parent company, Barbados Topco Limited.

These shares are 99.9% owned by BC Partners, Angus Ball and co-founder Keith Morris.

Sabre chief executive Geoff Carter said: “We are very excited about the next stage in Sabre’s development. Sabre benefits from strong underwriting expertise, a unique dataset and proprietary pricing model, diverse distribution through our wide broker network and Direct Brands, robust claims management processes and a prudent approach to risk.

“These strengths give us a significant competitive advantage to write attractive and profitable business across the UK private motor insurance market.”

Recently-appointed Sabre non-executive chairman Patrick Snowball added: I have huge confidence that the opportunities identified by the Group will be capitalised upon to create a very bright future for the business and all of its stakeholders.”