Liverpool Victoria to acquire Britannia Rescue from csma

Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society (“Liverpool Victoria”) has announced today that it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Britannia Rescue from the Civil Service Motoring Association (“csma”), subject to csma member approval and regulatory approval.

The key features of the proposed transaction are as follows:

The total value of the transaction is estimated to be approximately £36 million, of which £18 million will be paid in cash to csma on completion. The transaction will also release an estimated £8 million of value currently held within the existing underwriting vehicle, which will be retained by csma.

Liverpool Victoria will become the preferred provider of roadside rescue and recovery services to csma members.

Liverpool Victoria will remain the preferred supplier of insurance and other financial services products to csma members.

The transaction is conditional on approval by the members of csma at an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on 20th March 2007. A Circular setting out details of the proposed sale is expected to be posted in February to csma members.

The transaction is expected to be completed in early April.

The transaction will be achieved through the acquisition by Liverpool Victoria of the entire issued share capital of Motoring & Leisure Services Limited, the wholly owned subsidiary of csma that owns and operates Britannia Rescue.

Britannia Rescue is the UK’s fourth largest roadside rescue provider with approximately 300,000 customers. Britannia Rescue reaches around 50% of breakdowns within 30 minutes and 92% within one hour, one of the best performance records in the industry. In 2006 it was named ‘best buy’ for road rescue services for the third consecutive time by the UK’s leading consumer research organisation.

The transaction is further evidence of Liverpool Victoria’s stated ambition to grow its general insurance business over the next five years. This follows the friendly society’s acquisition last September of a new general insurance management team, headed by John O’Roarke, former Managing Director of Churchill Insurance.

Mike Rogers, Group Chief Executive of Liverpool Victoria, said: “This acquisition is an excellent opportunity for us to broaden the range of products we offer to our customers, with the addition of a market leading and excellent value road rescue offering. We already offer Britannia Rescue services to our motor insurance customers.

“We plan to invest in the Britannia Rescue brand to build awareness and market share of direct business. We will also offer greater choice in the market to brokers and to our existing and potential corporate partners, as a provider of competitive white-label road rescue services.

“We are also very attracted by the prospect of deepening our financial services partnership with csma, which goes back over 80 years.”

Geoffrey Eteson, Chairman of csma, commented: “Having considered all the options, the Association Board decided that an outright sale of Britannia Rescue was the best option for csma, its members, its employees and the Britannia Rescue business itself.

“The sale of Britannia Rescue to Liverpool Victoria will allow csma members to continue to benefit from roadside rescue and recovery services on preferential terms from a fellow mutual organisation, which shares csma's values of customer service, product quality and treating members fairly.”