Royal Exchange Plc announced yesterday that German-owned InsuResillience Investment Fund has completed the acquisition of 39.25% equity stake in its subsidiary – Royal Exchange General Insurance Limited.
The InsuResilience Investment Fund was set up by Germany’s state-owned development bank – KfW – on behalf of the German Government. The fund is managed by Blue Orchard Investment Ltd, a Swiss impact investment manager.
According to a statement that was made available to the public by Royal Exchange, the investment would enable Royal Exchange General Insurance Ltd to expand on its underwriting capacity, particularly so in the agriculture underwriting space. This is probably coming at the perfect time, considering the fact that Nigeria is approaching its farming season.
Royal Exchange also claimed that the investment has now strategically put it in a vantage position, which will enable it create value by catering to the needs of many under-insured small-scale farmers in the country. Part of the statement by the company said:
“We assure our shareholders and the investing public that the Company is strategically positioned to capture the opportunity by over 30 million under-insured small scale farmers by leveraging on technology to increase the resilience of small scale farmers to climate change.
“We also reiterate our commitment to continue to develop innovative products and services to meet the insurance needs of the general public.”
[READ MORE: Royal Exchange, subsidiaries fail to release 2019 financial result, risk financial sanction)
Established on February 28 1918, Royal Exchange Plc is also one of the oldest companies in Nigeria. It is also the oldest insurance company in Nigeria where it offers wide-ranging services, including life insurance, health insurance, and general insurance, etc.
Yesterday, the company informed stakeholders about its inability to meet the March 31st deadline to disclose its audited 2019 financial statement. As Nairametrics reported, the company blamed the late submissions by its subsidiaries for being responsible for the delay.
The company’s unaudited 2019 financial report shows that it reported a loss after tax of N215.3 million. This is worse than the N156.2 million loss after tax the company recorded in full-year 2018.
