Life insurer Just Group, which reported a 43% increase in retirement income sales for the first quarter of 2018, is no longer partly owned by private equity firm Permira.
Selling its entire 18% stake at 143 pence per share, Permira raised more than £237 million in the placing run by Numis Securities and Barclays Bank, according to a report by Alliance News. The report said the accelerated bookbuild saw the sale of over 166 million Just Group shares.
Prior to Numis’s announcement of the completed divestment, the specialist UK financial services group issued its trading update for the first three months of the year – revealing a 99% surge in defined benefit de-risking (DB) sales compared to 2017’s first quarter.
“We have taken full advantage of buoyant market conditions to make a strong start to the year, especially in DB,” said group chief executive Rodney Cook when the business update was announced. “We have maintained our financial discipline and are in a position to price even more selectively over the balance of the year.
“The pipeline remains strong across our main products, particularly in DB de-risking, and we look forward to the remainder of the year.”
Meanwhile Alliance News said none of the placing proceeds went to Just Group.
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