Antares to Manage Lloyd’s Syndicate 1274

Antares Managing Agency Ltd. has won approval to manage Lloyd's Syndicate 1274.

Syndicate 1274 was launched for the 2008 year of account under the overall management of Chaucer Syndicates Ltd., the managing agency of Chaucer Holdings plc (LSE: CHU).

Stephen Redmond, managing director of Antares, said in a statement that Chaucer had helped both in encouraging the development of the managing agency and in winning regulatory consent. This latest development, Redmond said, will not involve a change in the syndicate's day-to-day operations.

"As a result of the natural process of evolution, we've effectively created our own managing agency," Redmond told BestWire.

Antares, which has received the necessary approval from both Lloyd's and the U.K. Financial Services Authority, is part of Bermuda-based Antares Holdings Ltd., in which Chaucer Group is an investor.

Until now, Syndicate 1274 has been managed by Chaucer Syndicates, which seeks to provide a low-cost route for investors into Lloyd's. The syndicate was launched with the support of Lightyear Capital and German insurer Württembergische Versicherung A.G. (BestWire Oct. 5, 2007).

Lloyd's has a current Best's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent).

(By Robert O'Connor, London editor: [email protected])