UK BUSINESS:THE QUINN Group's decision to back down on its opposition to the Financial Regulator's appointment of administrators to Quinn Insurance will undoubtedly help pave the way for the reopening of its UK business.
The regulator said it “remained encouraged” by its engagement with the administrators on reopening parts of the insurer’s business in Northern Ireland and Britain.
Liam McCaffrey, chief executive of the Quinn Group, said there were 1,400 to 1,500 staff at the insurer currently “doing nothing” due to the closure, and these roles were at immediate risk if the UK business was not reopened.
All told, about 1,430 staff at Quinn Insurance who work in the UK business were at risk if the regulator’s closure order was not reversed, he said, while the value of Quinn Insurance was also being eroded by the regulator’s move.
“If the UK business could be re-established then at least that protects the fabric of the company that gives you time to find the solution,” said Mr McCaffrey.
He pointed out that he lives in Enniskillen and could not renew his house insurance policy with Quinn if it came up for renewal because of the closure of the firm to new business in the UK.
Of about €1 billion in total gross written premiums at Quinn Insurance, some €300 million is health insurance, while general insurance is split – at about €350 million each – between the Republic of Ireland division and in Northern Irish and British operations.
He said the Quinn Group was much bigger than Quinn Insurance, though the insurance firm accounted for about €200-300 million a year in profits, about half the group’s profits.
At its peak in 2006 the insurer provided profits of €323 million to the wider group.
Mr McCaffrey said the group had “good businesses, all well invested, all second or third in their respective markets”. For example, the glass-bottle manufacturing operation next to the group’s head office in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, has a 93 per cent market share in the Republic.
Turnover at the group fell to €1.8 billion in 2009 from €2.1 billion the previous year.
The group is split into manufacturing; financial services (including Quinn Insurance); and hospitality, which includes assets such as Buswells Hotel in Dublin, which are owed by the Quinn family.
Other assets, such as the Slieve Russell hotel in Cavan, the Belfry golf resort in the UK, and properties in eastern Europe, Russia and India are directly owned by the family.
Group turnover and profits are split evenly between the manufacturing and financial services units, said Mr McCaffrey.
