BRIT GROUP FINANCE : BRIT GROUP COMPLETES THE DIVESTMENT OF ITS LEGACY PORTFOLIO OF UK INSURANCE BUSINESS TO RIVERSTONE HOLDINGS

10/15/2012| 03:37pm US/Eastern

Brit Group today announces that, following receipt of all regulatory approvals, it has completed the divestment of its legacy portfolio of UK insurance business (BIL) to RiverStone Holdings, part of the Fairfax Group.

As previously announced, the Brit Group will retain control of certain classes of business via a reinsurance agreement including full claims handling authority in those classes. BIL will be renamed RiverStone Insurance Limited and will continue to manage the run-off of its remaining UK business. The completion of this transaction follows the sale of renewal rights for the Brit Group’s UK regional business in April to QBE. Together, the two disposals have enabled the transformation of the Brit Group into a focused global specialty underwriter.

Following the disposal and a resulting reduction in the Group’s capital requirements, Brit Insurance Holdings B.V. intends to pay, subject to shareholder approval, a partial distribution of sale proceeds of £200m by early November 2012. The Brit Group expects to have Net Tangible Assets of between £650m and £700m as at 31 December 2012.

Brit Group will write current and future business through its Lloyd’s Syndicate 2987 which benefits from Lloyd’s ‘A’ rating from A.M. Best and ‘A+’ rating from Fitch and Standard & Poors.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Mark Cloutier, Chief Executive Officer, Brit Insurance +44 (0) 20 7984 8500

Tom Burns / James Olley, Brunswick +44 (0) 20 7404 5959

About Brit Insurance

Brit is a market leader in global specialty insurance and reinsurance. We underwrite across all major classes of commercial insurance with a strong focus on Property, Casualty and Energy business. Brit is a reputable and influential name in the Lloyd’s market and we pride ourselves on our specialist underwriting and claims expertise.