Lloyds Cashing in on Esure Sale

07th March 2010 

Recently Lloyds announced the sale of its 70% stake in online insurance company Esure.

Peter Wood, Esure's chairman and co-founder, bought the share from Lloyds for more than £185 million.

Esure was part of Halifax before it was taken over by Lloyds Banking Group, which is surprisingly the largest provider of home insurance in the UK.

The deal made between Lloyds and Esure Group Holdings Ltd, led by Wood, was said to be "amicable".

"Lloyds and I never anticipated being joint venture partners. The deal I did with Halifax was fine for Halifax at the time... it didn't really work for Lloyds. It was a grown-up discussion and we have come to an amicable parting of the ways," Wood told Reuters shortly after the deal was signed.

Lloyds look to be streamlining their business after the Halifax takeover and this deal seems to back that up. Archie Kane, Group Executive Director Insurance, Lloyds Banking Group, indicated this when he said:

"This sale means we can focus our efforts on our core general insurance brands of Halifax and Lloyds TSB. Our priority is to deliver strong insurance products and excellent customer service across the general insurance business, thereby reinforcing our reputation as a market-leading insurance provider."

Esure was founded by Wood in 2000. The idea was to offer a better deal by using the internet to cut out the costs that traditional insurance companies were burdoned with. Esure sells home, car, motorbike, van, travel and pet insurance primarily through the internet.

It's TV ads featuring Michael Winner started in 2001 and coined the phrase "Calm down dear..it's just a commercial". You can see one version below:

Esure is also responsible for Sheila's Wheels, a brand targeting women drivers. Just like Esure, it's became known for an equally annoying but attention grabbing ad.

This isn't the first time Wood has been at the helm of a large insurance company. In the 1980's he set up the hugely successful Direct Line in a deal with RBS before leaving to start Esure.

Finding the best pet insurance policy often comes from comparing them. You can do this with our pet insurance comparison tool.

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