It looks like the ESURE applications have been scaled back - unfortunately to an amount that is hardly worth the bother. (40% @£2.90).

Esure Website

Sheila's Wheels Website

Recent Broker notes

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Recent Market news

Esure Fundamentals (ESUR)

Interim Management Statement

Highlights


· Total in-force policies increased 9.5% year-on-year and 1.5% in the quarter to 1.962m as at 31 March 2014 (Q1 2013: 1.791m, FY 2013: 1.933m)

· Gross written premiums broadly flat at £123.5m (Q1 2013: £124.2m), with Motor and Home down 0.5% and 1.0% respectively

· Additional services revenues ("ASR")1 down 3.5% to £24.7m (Q1 2013: £25.6m);
ASR, excluding Claims Income1, up 9.5% to £23.1m (Q1 2013: £21.1m)

· Severe weather events at the beginning of Q1 2014 are estimated to have cost the Group up to £3m more than normally expected during the quarter, at the lower end of the guidance given in March

· The Group's financial position remains strong.

JP Morgan have again given an overweight rating this morning:

11 Jun JP Morgan... N/A Overweight
3 Jun Citigroup 294.00 Buy
8 May Canaccord... 295.00 Buy
8 May Beaufort... N/A Hold
8 May Deutsche Bank 303.00 Buy
10 Apr Deutsche Bank 313.00 Buy
1 Apr Deutsche Bank 313.00 Buy
24 Mar JP Morgan... 300.00 Overweight
21 Mar HSBC 336.00 Overweight
12 Mar Canaccord... 295.00 Buy

Half Yearly Report

Highlights

· Profit before tax up 0.4% to £57.1m (HY 2013: £56.9m)

· In-force policies up 2.1% to 1.974 million (FY 2013: 1.933 million)

· Gross written premiums down 1.9% to £260.4m (HY 2013: £265.4m)

· Combined operating ratio1 increased 1.3ppts to 90.9% (HY 2013: 89.6%) due primarily to the severe weather events in Q1

· Additional services revenues ("ASR")2 flat at £51.0m (HY 2013: £51.0m);
ASR, excluding Claims Income2, up 5.7% to £48.0m (HY 2013: £45.4m)

· Earnings per share3 up 2.7% to 10.9 pence (HY 2013: 10.6 pence)

· Interim dividend per share of 5.1p (HY 2013: 2.5p4), a payout ratio5 of 70% (HY 2013: 70%)

· Strong financial position with IGD6 coverage of 366%, after allowing for the interim dividend.

Interim Management Statement

Remaining disciplined in tough market conditions

Financial summary

· Total in-force policies increased 2.5% year-on-year and 1.1% year-to-date to 1.954m as at 30 September 2014 (Q2 2014: 1.974m, FY 2013: 1.933m, Q3 2013: 1.906m)

· Motor in-force policies are broadly flat year-to-date at 1.394m (Q2 2014: 1.421m, FY 2013: 1.385m), with Home in-force policies up 2.4% to 0.561m (Q2 2014: 0.553m, FY 2013: 0.548m)

· Gross written premiums year-to-date down 4.0% to £410.0m (YTD Q3 2013: £427.0m), Motor and Home down 4.5% and 1.3% respectively

· Gross written premiums for Q3 down 7.4% to £149.6m (Q3 2013: £161.6m), Motor down 8.8%, with Home broadly flat

· Additional Services Revenues1 ("ASR") year-to-date broadly flat at £79.0m (YTD Q3 2013: £79.3m)

ASR excluding Claims Income up 2.8% to £74.7m (YTD Q3 2013: £72.7m)

· The financial position remains strong, with the Group remaining well capitalised and on track for the implementation of Solvency II

StockMarketWire.com
esure Group has conditionally agreed to acquire the outstanding 50% of Gocompare.com Holdings Limited for £95m.

This will give esure 100% of Gocompare.

The acquisition is subject to Competition and Markets Authority approval.

Chairman Peter Wood said: "This is another positive milestone for esure Group. Gocompare has always been an exciting business and it has developed strongly following our original investment into one of the UK's leading financial services brands. This move lays the ground for further development of Gocompare as part of the Group's strategy of diversifying income streams."

Results for the year ended 31 December 2014

Solid results achieved through a disciplined approach in a challenging environment

Headlines

· In-force policies up 0.7% to 1.946 million (2013: 1.933 million)

· Gross written premiums down 3.4% to £517.8 million (2013: £535.8 million)

· Profit before tax down 12.8% to £103.3 million (2013: £118.4 million) impacted by current market conditions and costs associated with the acquisition of Gocompare1

· Combined operating ratio2 increased by 2.2ppts to 91.9% (2013: 89.7%)

· Additional Services Revenue ("ASR")3 broadly flat at £103.0 million (2013: £103.9 million)
- ASR excluding Claims Income3 up 1.7% to £97.3 million (2013: £95.7 million)

· Pro forma earnings per share4 down 11.6% to 19.8 pence (2013: 22.4 pence)

· Final dividend of 11.7 pence per share (2013: 13.3 pence). Full year dividend of 16.8 pence per share

(2013: 15.8 pence) represents a payout ratio of 85%. The payout ratio comprises a base dividend of 50%

and a special dividend of 35%.

· Strong financial position with IGD5 coverage of 377% after the final dividend

· Acquisition of the outstanding 50% of Gocompare1 for £95.0 million; expected to complete on 31 March

2015, funded by the issue of £125.0 million 6.75% ten year tier two Subordinated Notes

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 211.20 290.00 290.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Hold 211.20 275.00 255.00 Downgrades

The share price has fallen out of bed and yet the analysts still seem positive on this share. So who is right?

10 Mar JP Morgan... 290.00 Overweight
10 Mar Deutsche Bank 255.00 Hold
9 Mar Deutsche Bank 275.00 Buy

The market is always right! ;o)

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 211.65 212.50 290.00 280.00 Reiterates

Invesco > 5%

Interim Management Statement

Interim Management Statement for the three months to 31 March 2015

Highlights

· Gross written premiums up 5.8% to £130.7m (Q1 2014: £123.5m)

· In-force policies up 1.3% in the quarter to 1.971m (FY 2014: 1.946m, Q1 2014: 1.962m)

· Motor gross written premiums up 7.2% to £110.1m (Q1 2014: £102.7m), with Home gross written premiums down 1.0% to £20.6m (Q1 2014: £20.8m)

· Motor in-force policies up 1.7% to 1.401m (FY 2014: 1.378m, Q1 2014: 1.410m), with Home in-force policies broadly flat at 0.570m (FY 2014: 0.568m, Q1 2014: 0.552m)

· Additional Services Revenues1 ("ASR") down 1.2% to £24.4m (Q1 2014: £24.7m)

· The Group's financial position remains strong; the Group remains well capitalised; and is on track for the implementation of Solvency II

· Completed the acquisition of the outstanding 50% of Gocompare2 on 31 March 2015

Half Yearly Report

Performance in line with guidance; claims environment remains challenging

Highlights

· Gross written premiums up 5.8% to £275.5m (HY 2014: £260.4m)

· In-force policies up 2.5% to 1.995 million in the first half of 2015 (FY 2014: 1.946 million, HY 2014: 1.974 million)

· Combined operating ratio 4.9ppts higher at 95.8% (HY 2014: 90.9%) largely driven by a reduction in favourable development of prior accident year reserves to 14.9% of net earned premiums (HY 2014: 19.0%)

· Underlying profit before tax2 down 21.3% to £46.5m (HY 2014: £59.1m)

· Underlying earnings per share3 down 20.4% to 9.0 pence (HY 2014: 11.3 pence)

· Interim dividend per share of 4.2p (HY 2014: 5.1p), a payout ratio4 of 70% of underlying earnings per share for the HY 2015 (HY 2014: 70% of reported earnings per share)

· Strong financial position with IGD5 coverage of 390%, after allowing for the interim dividend; remain on track for the implementation of Solvency II

· Gocompare6 revenue broadly flat at £59.6m; profit before tax up 25.2% to £13.4m (HY 2014: Revenue of £59.1m; profit before tax of £10.7m); and cash earnings accretive for the Group

Shore Capital Sell 239.30 - - Reiterates

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 239.30 299.00 295.00 Reiterates

Barclays Capital Overweight 239.30 - - Retains

I'm out. Sold out this morning. I didn't like the interims one little bit. Nasty loss but medicine taken. May look again if it gets below 220.

Preliminary Results

Highlights

· Gross written premiums up 6.3% to £550.3m (2014: £517.8m)

· In-force policies up 2.8% to 2.001 million (2014: 1.946 million)

· Combined operating ratio 5.9ppts higher at 97.8% (2014: 91.9%)

· Profit before tax up 29.7% to £134.0m (2014: £103.3m)

· Underlying profit before tax1 down 22.7% to £82.9m (2014: £107.2m)

· Final dividend of 7.3 pence per share, which together with the interim dividend of 4.2 pence per share, takes the full year dividend to 11.5 pence per share. This reflects a payout ratio2 of 70% of underlying earnings per share, inclusive of a 20% special dividend

· Gocompare.com3 income up 5.0% to £119.0m (2014: £113.3m); profit before tax down 9.0% to £23.3m (2014: 25.6m) as the Group invests in its strategic objectives

· Well capitalised under Solvency II with Group coverage at 123% (137% prior to Group final dividend) and Solo coverage at 138%

Up 12% on this news:

http://news.sky.com/story/1719721/bidders-go-compare-numbers-on-esure-takeover

StockMarketWire.com
esure (ESUR) said no approach has been received by the company concerning a potential offer.

esure said it continues to focus on its strategic review of Gocompare.com Holdings as announced on 7 June 2016, in order to maximise value for all shareholders and will announce results of the strategic review in due course.

RBC note today:
"Strategic review results in demerger of Gocompare
esure announced that it will pursue a demerger of Gocompare as a result of the strategic review that it launched in June 2016. Subject to approvals, the deal should occur in Q4 2016 and will incur costs of c£19m. esure believes that Gocompare as a standalone entity will be able to attract more technology focused employees who will be more interested in joining a digital company. Prior to the demerger being completed, Gocompare is expected to draw down on a £75m debt facility and pay a cash dividend of £63m to esure. Following the demerger, esure will target an SCR of 130-150%, an increase on the SCR of 126% at 1H16, and sees no change to current dividend policy. We believe the increase in esure’s solvency ratio should help esure’s standing as a standalone motor insurance business vs peers.
Investment thesis crystallising
Our positive investment thesis was borne of our belief that the market fundamentally undervalues Gocompare as part of esure. We have written about this extensively in several notes including ‘Good value when you Gocompare: Initiating at Outperform’ and ‘What happens when you Gocompare’. We believe that today’s announced demerger should help shareholders to crystallise value in the company. If we were to value esure’s earnings excluding Gocompare at 13x, this implies that Gocompare would trade on 14x 2017E earnings, a large discount to the P/E multiple of Moneysupermarket (20x 2017E).
Scenario analysis – range between 310p and 394p per share
We re-run our scenario analysis from our 7th June 2016 note and generate a valuation range between 310p and 394p. Arguably, Gocompare’s only real comparable is Moneysupermarket, given the price comparison business that they both focus on. If we value Gocompare’s 2017E earnings at a 20% discount to Moneysupermarket’s multiple and value the remainder of esure’s earnings at 13x, we generate a 310p valuation (our base case). However, if progress continues to be strong, then potentially Gocompare could re-rate to a Moneysupermarket multiple which would suggest a valuation of 338p. If we use the trading multiples of internetfocused peers such as Zoopla, Autotrader, and Rightmove, this leads to a valuation of 394p per share, however, we would argue that this is more of a blue sky scenario."

Gocompare.com on road to stock market

The multimillionaire founder of esure hailed Gocompare.com as his “best investment ever” as the insurer said that it would spin out the price comparison website in a stock market listing that could value the business at as much as £500m. Esure told the market yesterday that after a strategic review it had concluded that separating the companies was the best option for both and would make it easier for Gocompare.com to bring in leading technology industry managers.

Shareholders in esure will be given new shares in Gocompare on a pro rata basis, meaning that Sir Peter Wood, who owns just under a 31% stake in esure, will be the biggest shareholder in Gocompare when it lists in London. The flotation of Gocompare is expected to take place before the end of the year and the website is expected to attract an independent valuation of between £400m and £500m. Esure said the costs of separating out the price comparison site would come to £19m.

Complete article: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/gocompare-com-on-road-to-stock-market-x6jphqdqr