Lombard team

THE MANAGEMENT of Lombard Continental Insurance is acquiring the 150-year-old company in a pounds 32m buyout. The buyout team - backed by Electra, the venture capitalist - plans to bring it to the stock market within two years.

The specialist in non-London market general insurance is being divested by Continental Insurance of the US, which has decided to concentrate on its core business. Lombard had gross premium income of pounds 70m in 1992. Sixty-five per cent of the business is personal and 35 per cent commercial. The management is injecting pounds 300,000 and will end up with about 10 per cent of the equity.