Lancashire set for special payout as founder leaves with £80m
INSURANCE firm Lancashire yesterday revealed plans to return all its earnings to shareholders, as the previous chief executive’s leaving package was disclosed.
Richard Brindle’s leaving package ran to $11.6m (£6.83m), according to the results. The former chief executive, who founded the company nine years ago, also reportedly sold his entire shareholding, according to the Financial Times. Including warrants which he exercised, Brindle left with a reported £80m.
Profit before tax fell to $41.5m in the second quarter of the year, down from $58.3m in the same three months of 2013. “If there are no major events, and no change in the market, it remains likely that we will return the majority, if not all, of our earnings to our shareholders later in the year,” said Elaine Whelan, Lancashire’s chief financial officer. Its share price surged, rising 4.87 per cent after the results were published.