Hastings, the motor insurance company, is set to list on the stock market as it attempts to draw in at least 2.5 million more customers before the start of 2018.
By issuing new shares, the company is hoping to raise £180m. As part of the Initial Public Offering (IPO), some of Hastings’ existing shareholders will sell off a portion of their stakes in the company too.
Some backers claim that the value of the equity could end up being as much as £1.5bn, with many workers could be set to receive hundreds of pounds. The majority of the 2,000 people employed by Hastings are expected to be in line for a windfall when the company goes public due to being small shareholders.
Andy Hughes, an analyst, highlighted Hastings had much better results than others, but said: “The key issue for me is how Hastings is able to outperform the market”. There had been an 11 per cent rise across the sector in claims costs, but Hastings’ claims costs only rose by approximately 2 per cent, he said.
Eighteen years ago Hastings only had 50 employees when it began and sold insurance through phone calls, but over time it built itself up, making effective use of price comparison websites. Almost 90 per cent of the business is private car insurance, but Hastings also provides home insurance.