R&Q agrees terms on Vibe Syndicate, eyes pipeline of legacy deals

Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings has agreed to acquire the Vibe Group, which has a Lloyd’s syndicate placed into runoff in 2019.

The deal, which will be completed via its wholly owned subsidiary Randall & Quilter II Holdings, will include Vibe Services Management, Vibe Corporate Member and Vibe Syndicate Management. The Vibe Group is ultimately owned by Syndicate Holding Corp in Puerto Rico.

The Vibe Syndicate 5678 was placed into run-off in December 2019. R&Q will assume responsibility for the run-off of Syndicate 5678, which carried net insurance liabilities of £251.1 million as at 30 June 2020.

The consideration payable by R&Q is £25 million, payable in cash. This represents a discount to the Vibe Group’s net assets which, at 30 June 2020, were estimated to be £29.4 million. In the year to 31 December 2019 the Vibe Group recorded a loss of £29.9 million.

Ken Randall, executive chairman of R&Q, said: "We are delighted to have agreed terms to acquire the Vibe Lloyd’s Companies. R&Q takes pride in providing finality for owners and we are pleased to see clear evidence of increased demand for legacy solutions at

Lloyd’s throughout 2020. While logistically it has taken longer to complete deals due to Covid-19, we are pleased to report that we have a healthy pipeline of opportunities and a number of further transactions which are nearing completion. We therefore look forward to announcing further legacy transactions over the course of the next few weeks."