4^th April 2023                                                    

Helios Underwriting plc

('Helios' or 'the Company')

Quarterly Syndicate Mid Point Forecasts

Helios, the unique investment vehicle which acquires and consolidates private underwriting capacity at Lloyd's, announces the current mid-point forecasts in respect of its portfolio of syndicate capacity for the 2020 and 2021 years of account based on 4th quarter 2022 estimates.

Martin Reith, Chief Executive, commented:

"Helios' unique proposition, as the only listed consolidator of private capital at Lloyd's, is well positioned to benefit from the Lloyd's market's recently announced mid point forecasts. Helios has built and curated an outstanding portfolio of the better performing syndicates and, as a consequence of underwriting discipline and judicious capital deployment, we are delighted to see improved underwriting profitability in the Lloyd's market. We expect Helios' portfolio to continue to outperform the market as we have since 2013 for closed years of accounts.

Recognising stronger market conditions, we increased our retained capacity to £238m for the 2023 year of account, an increase of 34%. We remain confident that we shall deliver improved results and superior return on equity underpinned by our favourable Economic Capital Assessment (ECA), and look forward to creating further shareholder value as the benefits of the larger retained capacity flows to the income statement."

Commentary

The 2020 result showed an improvement over the midpoint forecasts as at 30^th September 2022.  The overall result was impacted by the negative investment returns recognised during the year and the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The development of the mid point estimate for 2021 has been held back by losses from Ukraine that were recognised in 2022.  The improved returns from the investment portfolio should benefit this year before it closes at the end of this year.

The 2022 underwriting year has been impacted by the loss from Hurricane Ian that will create a drag on the earnings recognised in 2022.

The outperformance of 2.2% of the portfolio against the average for the Lloyd's market for 2020 continues the trend of closed year of account outperformance achieved since 2013.

Notes

1)    The table above shows the capacity as at 31^st March 2023, splitting the capacity retained by Helios and the capacity that is ceded to quota share reinsurers. 

2)    The mid-point forecasts for 2020 and 2021 years of account as of 4^th quarter 2022 have been aggregated at syndicate level from estimates supplied by Managing Agents.

3)    The impact on Helios will be as follows:

a.    The change in the mid point estimates on the retained capacity over the year will be recognised in the Helios income statement in the year to 31^st December 2022.

b.    The overall change in the result will be recognised by Helios in cash at the close of the year of account.

For further information, please contact:

Helios Underwriting plc

Helios Underwriting plc

Martin Reith - Chief Executive                                                 +44(0)7720 292 505

Nigel Hanbury - Executive Deputy Chairman                       +44(0)7787 530 404

Arthur Manners - Chief Financial Officer                               +44(0)7754 965 917

Shore Capital

Robert Finlay                                                                               +44(0)20 77408 4080

David Coaten

Henry Willcocks

Buchanan

Helen Tarbet / Henry Wilson / George Beale                         +44 (0)7872 604 453

                                                                                                      +44 (0)20 7466 5111

About Helios

Helios provides a limited liability direct investment into the Lloyd's insurance market and is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market (ticker: HUW). Helios trades within the Lloyd's insurance market writing approximately £297m of capacity for the 2023 account. The portfolio provides a good spread of business being concentrated in property insurance and reinsurance. For further information please visit www.huwplc.com.