In the face of “considerable strategic challenges,” Advent Capital Holdings and Brit Limited may be set to combine some of their Lloyd’s businesses.
In a release issued moments ago, the firms outlined that the Advent syndicate has been facing challenges as it looks to build its strategic presence in its target areas, with the marketplace proving particularly competitive. As such, it has been undertaking a portfolio review to look at how it can optimise its business model – and going forward that focus will be on how it can work with Brit and will also consider which parts of the portfolio can be transferred, while the remainder of the business looks set for run off.
“We believe this is the right and best approach to building on the value we have created in recent years at Advent,” said Nigel Fitzgerald, CEO of Advent. “We look forward to working closely with the team at Brit to achieve that objective.”
Staff at both Advent and Brit are being consulted about the proposals and the plan is to work together to maximise strengths, according to Matthew Wilson, CEO of Brit.
“We are working closely with the management team of Advent to design what we believe will be an optimum portfolio for our business and look forward to welcoming Advent team members to Brit,” he said. “These are challenging times, nonetheless with our clear strategy for the future we will collectively continue to build upon our track record of outperformance.”
Meanwhile, Prem Watsa, the chairman of Fairfax, the parent of Advent and Brit, clarified the company’s “commitment to allow our businesses to operate on a decentralised basis.”
“Recognising the challenges Advent faces today, and following consultation with Nigel Fitzgerald and Lloyd’s, we were happy to adopt this course of action,” he said.
