Chesnara plc
(the "Company")
Results of the Audit Tender Process
Chesnara plc announces that, following the conclusion of a formal tender process led by the Company's Audit & Risk Committee, the Board of Directors has approved the re-appointment of Deloitte LLP ("Deloitte") as auditor of the Chesnara plc group (the "Group").
The Company stated its intention to tender the audit in the Group's Interim Financial Statements issued 31 August 2017. A formal competitive tender process was completed, overseen by the Group's Audit & Risk Committee. UK and EU law now requires an auditor's maximum period as auditor to a listed company to be 20 years, with a competitive tender process required at least once every 10 years.
Deloitte, the Group's current auditor, will, subject to shareholder approval at the forthcoming 2018 Annual General Meeting ("AGM"), continue in the role and undertake the audit of the Group's financial statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2018.
The Board would like to thank Deloitte and the other firms who took part in the tender.
For further information, please contact:
Roddy Watt
Director, Capital Markets
FWD, Forward thinking communications
T 020 7280 0651
W www.fwdconsulting.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Chesnara plc ('Chesnara'), which listed on the London Stock Exchange in May 2004, is the owner of Countrywide Assured plc ('CA plc'), Movestic Livförsäkringar AB ('Movestic') and Chesnara Holdings BV. Chesnara Holdings BV. is, the intermediate holding company of 'Waard Group' and 'Scildon'.
CA plc is a UK life assurance subsidiary that is closed to new business. In June 2005 Chesnara acquired a further closed life insurance company - City of Westminster Assurance - for £47.8m. With effect from 30 June 2006, CWA's policies and assets were transferred into CA plc. Save & Prosper Insurance Limited and its subsidiary, Save & Prosper Pensions Limited, were acquired on 20 December 2010 for £63.5 million. With effect from 31 December 2011, the business of Save & Prosper was transferred into CA plc. On 28 November 2013 Chesnara acquired Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited (subsequently renamed Protection Life Company Limited) from Direct Line Group plc for £39.3m. On 31 December 2014 the PL business transferred into CA plc. CA plc operates an outsourced business model.
Movestic, a Swedish life assurance company which originally focused on pensions and savings, was acquired on 23 July 2009 for £20 million. The company is open to new business and seeks to grow its position in the Swedish unit-linked market. Its proposition was strengthened in February 2010 with the acquisition of the operations of Aspis Försäkringar Liv AB which has a risk and health product bias.
The Waard Group, a Netherlands-based Group comprising three closed book insurance companies and a servicing company, was acquired on 19 May 2015 for €69.9m. The Waard Group, comprising Waard Leven N.V., Hollands Welvaren Leven N.V., Waard Schade N.V. and Tadas Verzekeringen B.V. was previously owned by DSB Beheer B.V., a Dutch financial services Group. The policy base of the Waard Group is predominantly term life policies, with some unit linked policies and some non-life policies. On 5 April 2017 Chesnara completed its acquisition of Legal & General Nederland Levensverzeikering Maatschappij N.V. ('LGN') for €161.2 million. The LGN business which has been renamed Scildon, is in the Dutch life assurance market, and as with our Swedish subsidiary Movestic, Scildon will be writing protection and pension new business.
Further details are available on the Company's website (www.chesnara.co.uk).
