Cowdery’s insurance vehicle resolves its boardroom tangle
INSURANCE vehicle Resolution has paid £7.5m to axe its external management deal and simplify its board structure.
The firm, which specialises in overhauling underperforming insurers, said it was bringing management in-house from March 2013 as it moves from an acquisitions vehicle to a more traditional company.
Founder Clive Cowdery has joined the board for the first time, having headed up the separate firm Resolution Operations (RO), and the company has added more independent non-executives.
The firm said in August that it would jettison its complex board structure to ensure the group keeps its premium listing on the London Stock Exchange and the fund investment that comes with it.
The firm’s deal to end the management arrangement is cheap compared to a £14.6m severance fee set out in the contract, Resolution said. RO’s 24 employees will move to the listed firm.
The company, which has spent £4.7bn buying three insurers since it was set up in 2008, called a halt to acquisitions in August.