Pearl to raise £500m and list on stock exchange

The Pearl Group, owner of Ignis and a number of insurance brands, has announced plans to raise £500m from investors before floating on the London Stock Exchange.

Led by Hugh Osmond, Pearl is already in talks with its banking consortium about restructuring its more than £2bn debt, mostly incurred by its£4.98bn purchase of Resolution.

Pearl says the capital raising and floatation is also needed after recognising the credit crunch has changed its operational business model.

"We are in a market full of opportunities, but one in which the debt-funded acquisition model that served Pearl and others so well in the past is simply no longer appropriate," it says.

"We are therefore pursuing a capital restructuring, fund raising and thereafter a listing on the London Stock Exchange.

"We believe that the resulting combination of substantial scale, robust capital strength, strong cash generation and listing should cement Pearl's position as the pre-eminent scale closed fund consolidator in the UK market."

hysni.kaso@incisivemedia.com