Gulf starts at Sheikh Adi-2 25/05/2012
Iraq-focused oil explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) has begun drilling at the Sheikh Adi-2 well in the Sheikh Adi block.
Cobra on expansion tack
Acquisitive insurance concern Cobra Holdings has several corporate deals and a possible equity funding in sight by April.
AIM-quoted Cobra operates Britain's largest insurance broker network, with £400 million in annual premiums, and is this week launching a new 'cradle to grave' broker nurturing service, Cobra Genesis. Chief executive Steve Burrows says the tightly held and cash-generative company, which made a slightly reduced interim profit of £801,000 on increased revenues of £7.5 million, has set a goal of making up to eight acquisitions this year, overall generating a minimum annual premium income of £25 million.
Brokers in Cobra's network pay a slice of their commission to Cobra for administration and service and the company is paid by 'sponsoring' insurance companies for providing this broker distribution network, in return paying bonuses to brokers which bring more than a set minimum of business to these insurance companies. The company is also active in insurance and reinsurance, in the London market and elsewhere, where Burrows says it has binding authority to write on behalf of insurance majors such as AXA and Norwich Union (part of the Aviva group) without committing any of its own funds.
Burrows says Cobra, which last autumn bought Manchester broker UKI Holdings for £4.3 million, wants to continue as a driver of sector consolidation and has adequate cash flow to choose from several likely broking targets. Meanwhile, bulls suggest Towergate Partnership, which recently bought rival Broker Network for £95 million and still has £300 million left from an earlier £1 billion funding, might be studying Cobra's own merits as a potential target.
Fans argue Cobra, expected by broker Fairfax to report a £3.2 million pre-tax profit for 2007 and £4.6 million this year, could benefit from issuing shares, whether accompanying a takeover or not, to enhance the shares' liquidity and make the company accessible to institutional backing. Floated last year at 97p, the shares now trade at 92.5p, valuing Cobra at £35 million, and, despite a weak premium environment, have potential speculative possibilities, overall market conditions permitting.
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