RSA shares lift 6% ahead of PwC report

RSA Insurance saw its shares lift yesterday by 5.75% after reports that the £200m black hole on its Irish books was an isolated incident.

The FTSE-100 listed group is set to unveil the results of a PwC review of its Irish operations on Thursday, following the discovery of accounting irregularities in the business.

The Sunday Telegraph suggested that the PwC report will reveal that the issues in Ireland were an “isolated incident” requiring no further write-downs.

RSA appointed PwC to perform the review after it discovered “issues” in the Irish business’s claims and finance functions.

The insurer has subsequently had to pump £200m into the reserves of its Irish operation. It initially increased reserves by £70m, but then strengthened them by a further £130m.

The problems have prompted a string of rating downgrades and have led to the resignation of RSA group chief executive Simon Lee and Ireland chief executive Philip Smith.

The group is now being run by executive chairman Martin Scicluna.