£37,000 staff windfalls in Admiral float

MOTOR insurer Admiral has injected some life into the stalled new issues market with a listing today that values the group at £711m.

At 275p, just above the middle of the range it was offering the City earlier this month, the float triggers windfalls averaging £37,000 each for 1,500 employees based mostly in Swansea and Cardiff who own shares through a trust.

Founder and chief executive Henry Engelhardt makes almost £140m from his 19.6% stake, collecting around £28m of it in cash from selling a fifth of his holding. Investors including private equity groups, are selling a combined 32%, raising £231m.

This nets a big gain for Barclays Private Equity, seller of 15% and which financed a management buyout in 1999.

XL Capital, the Bermuda-based insurer that helped establish Admiral in 1991, is selling its 5% holding.

Shares worth about £32m are being held by bookrunner Merrill Lynch to satisfy any extra demand.

Today's float should bolster hopes that Saga, the travel company and insurer, will achieve a £1.1bn price tag for its share offering at the end of the year. It is running a twin-track sales process with first-round bids due at the end of the month.

In the summer, Virgin Mobile and Premier Foods had to cut their offer prices as the new issues market wobbled over Middle East tension, interest rate rises and surging oil prices.