June 27, 2005

New brand heralds new era for Cox

A series of important announcements are made today heralding a new era for Cox Insurance Holdings Plc ('Cox').

Completion of acquisition

The consortium led by Neil Utley (who was Chief Executive of Cox until June 2004) has announced the effective completion of its £430 million acquisition of Cox. As at 9.00am on 24.06.05 it had received valid acceptances of the Offer for Cox Insurance Holdings Plc ("Cox") in respect of a total of 287,630,944 Cox Shares, representing approximately 90.44 per cent. of Cox's existing issued share capital, all conditions to the Offer have now either been satisfied or waived and the Offer is unconditional in all respects. The Offer will remain open until further notice. Cox shares will be de-listed from the London Stock Exchange in due course.

The consortium also comprises Duke Street Capital and Englefield Capital, two London-based private equity funds.

New brand identity

To symbolise the new era, Cox will change its name to the Equity Insurance Group. The broking business, currently Cox Insurance Brokers Limited, will be renamed Equity Insurance Brokers Limited. The underwriting business will remain Equity Red Star. These changes will take effect from January 2006.

Commenting on the planned new identity, Neil Utley, Group Chief Executive, said:

"The aim of these changes is to capitalise on the value of the word 'Equity'. The concept of 'Equity' has been a core part of our successful Equity Red Star brand for many years and the word itself embodies the theme of fairness - one of the principles we observe in providing insurance to our customers."

"In the past we have been disadvantaged by too many names with insufficient brand recognition. Our new suite of brands will be more effective in the marketplace, reinforcing our strength as one combined group containing both a top underwriter and a fast-growing broking business."

Senior management team

As a result of the takeover, a re-shaped senior management team is now in place to drive the business forward under its new ownership structure. The team comprises the majority of the existing senior management of Cox. In addition, Andrew Gibson will be appointed as Finance & Operations Director. Andrew's most recent experience has been ten years at Highway Insurance Holdings plc, the publicly listed motor insurance company, where he was Finance Director for five years and has been Chief Executive Officer since July 2002. Adam Barron and Jerome Mourgue d'Algue from Englefield Capital and Julian Brock and Colin Curvey from Duke Street Capital will also sit on the Board as Non-Executive Directors.

Commenting on the new management team, Neil Utley said:

"Andrew has extensive experience in the UK motor insurance market and I'm absolutely delighted that he is joining us. The team we now have in place, most of whom have been with the business for many years, has been further strengthened with the addition of Andrew and also Keith Charlton who joins us from Congregational and General Insurance. The new team is extremely strong and has the right skills to build on previous accomplishments."

He also added:

"I am delighted to be back working with so many colleagues from my previous time with the company. As a result of the takeover, for the first time a significant proportion of the business will be owned by management and, furthermore, an employee trust will be created to enable everyone to share in the ultimate success of the business."

"The management team and our private equity investors are passionate about the business and we have huge confidence in the markets in which we trade. Whilst the next few years will undoubtedly be challenging, we are absolutely committed to growing the business in conjunction with all our customers, partners and suppliers".

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