Brit raises £161m in premiums chase

BRIT Insurance revealed that it has raised £160.8m through fully underwritten share and loan note placings to take advantage of rising premiums.

Chief executive Neil Eckert said that the funds would enable it to underwrite £450m of premiums in the Lloyd's market next year, against £320m currently. It has a further £60m of underwriting outside Lloyd's. 'I've never seen insurance rates like it and I think it will last a good three years,' he said.

But it was not all good news for shareholders, with the company saying that its exposure to 11 September terrorist attacks on the US would prevent it from paying a final dividend this year. Brit, which has estimated its net loss from the attacks to be £82.5m, had already abandoned its interim payout and indicated that next year's dividend was also under threat.

Brit's three-for-four open offer will see it collect about £115m from the issue of shares at 64p, representing an 8% discount to today's price of 69 1/2p. It will also raise £45m from a three-for-16 convertible note issue. These will carry an 8.5% yield convertible at 88p until 2005. The company is also seeking to raise a further £100m in fresh secured debt to cash in on the higher rates.