The Quinn Group is expected to renew its efforts to be involved in the buyout of Quinn Insurance, after it was confirmed that no decision on the insurer’s future would be made until after the general election.
It is understood that the group has commissioned a report from an international accountancy firm, which questions the Financial Regulator’s decision to put Quinn Insurance into administration on March 30 last year.
The new government is expected to face intensive lobbying to review the decision, which led to the insurer being put on the market.
The regulator and the administrators have also been urged to reopen Quinn Insurance’s British commercial insurance business, which was shut down by the regulator on the same day the administrators were appointed.
At the time, the regulator said that the reason behind the move was ‘‘to prevent Quinn Insurance Limited suffering further financial losses from its currently unprofitable UK business’’, but the Quinn Group claims the commercial business was operating profitably.
A report commissioned by the administrators from EMB, a firm of specialist insurance auditors, suggests that parts of the British business were profitable, although the overall British business was loss making.
Quinn Insurance had about 250 staff in Enniskillen working on the British commercial business, which had customers including Tesco and building firm Laing O’Rourke.
However, those jobs are expected to be lost as part of the restructuring of the insurer.
The sale of Quinn Insurance has reached its final stage, but the administrators confirmed to the firm’s staff last Thursday that no decision would be made until the new government was formed.
The two final bids are understood to be from a joint venture between Anglo Irish Bank and US firm Liberty Mutual, and from Swiss insurer Zurich.
The Quinn Group had been in talks with Anglo about a joint bid for the insurer, which it claimed would protect jobs and allow full repayment of the €2.8 billion owed to Anglo by the group and its founder, Sean Quinn. However, it was ruled out of the running late last year, and none of the final bids for the firm involved the group.
Supporters of Quinn have stepped up their efforts to have the administration and sale process reviewed following the latest delay.
A meeting took place last Tuesday between groups that support Quinn’s proposal for the company, including a cross-party political group led by Sinn Fe¤ in TD Caoimhghin O’Caoláin.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Quinn Group, members of Cavan Chamber of Commerce, and lobby group Concerned Irish Business.
They plan to communicate directly with the chief executive of the National Treasury Management Agency (which will fund Anglo’s part of any bid), Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan and Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan. It is understood that members of Cavan County Council will meet the Financial Regulator, Matthew Elderfield, on February 28.
In the e-mail to staff last week, one of the administrators, Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton, said there were ‘‘a number of matters’’ that could not be finalised until after the election. However, he said he could not go into details of any of the bids, ‘‘as to do so may impede our ability to deliver a very good deal for the company and its staff’’.
‘‘I want to stress that the sales process has not been suspended, and that this delay is due to the political climate that the country is currently experiencing, not due to lack of interest on behalf of the bidders,” he said.
Source : The Post.ie
