By Helia Ebrahimi, Senior City Correspondent
Published: 6:45AM GMT 19 Feb 2010
CPP Group, which operates in 14 countries and has 1,900 employees, insures credit cards and mobile phones, and also offers identity theft protection. It will begin marketing the business to investors this week, with a market listing expected by the end of next month.
CPP is just one of Mr Ogston’s ventures. The 61 year-old, who joined the Norwegian Merchant Navy aged 17, has co-founded businesses as varied as the Guinness World Of Records exhibition company and the retail discount card Countdown.
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But with 10m policies and more than £292m of sales across the world, Mr Ogston admits that CPP was his best investment.
The company’s advisors – UBS and JP Morgan Cazenove – hope to raise £30m to £40m of new money through a primary listing and roughly £200m through the sale of up to 60pc of Mr Ogston’s stake in the business.
The new money will be used to pay down CPP’s £48.8m of net debt, leaving Mr Ogston as its biggest shareholder. “Having been the controlling shareholder for the last 30 years, I believe the time is right for me to realise part of my investment,” he said.
The York-based company saw average revenue per policy rise to £29.21, up from £24.48 the previous year, while earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation were £49.5m.
The company claims to have predictable future earnings, with 70pc of customers renewing their policies every year.
CPP’s management, headed by chief executive Eric Woolley, holds a 9pc stake.
