London staff score £36 million from insurance firm’s sale to Hannover Re

Insurance firm Argenta was sold to reinsurance giant Hannover Re earlier this week, and the company’s top boss had made sure that several of his employees would financially gain from the recent deal.

 

Both companies did not reveal the purchase price, but The Herald reported that Hannover Re acquired Argenta for £142.5 million. Its chairman, Scottish businessman Alasdair Locke, got over £64 million from the deal since he had a 45% stake in the insurance firm.

 

About 60 of Locke’s 160 staff who are mainly based in London – from office workers to executives – will also share a £35.6 million windfall from the transaction, according to the report.

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The report revealed that after developing Argenta more than 10 years ago, Locke put 25% of the shares in the insurance firm into an employee trust aimed at motivating and benefiting his staff.

 

“The benefits are widely spread, the people at the top will have more than the people at the bottom, but a lot of them will do very well out of it, and that was always the idea,” Locke was quoted as saying in The Herald.

 

“I believe in looking after people, I believe if you look after your staff, they'll look after you and it’s a win-win for everybody,” he added.

 

Argenta owns Lloyd’s managing agent Argenta Syndicate Management, Argenta Private Capital and Lloyd’s syndicate Argenta Syndicate 2121.

 

The company supplies nearly £1.8 billion of investor capacity to the Lloyd’s market with its Syndicate 2121 focusing on short-tail property business and specialty lines. In 2016, the syndicate booked gross premium of £280 million.

 

Argenta’s sale to Hannover Re, which is still subject to all necessary approvals, is expected to close in the third quarter.