Pool Re makes £100m third catastrophe bond placement

Pool Re has completed its third catastrophe bond transaction, securing £100m in collateralised retrocession protection as part of its continued effort to transfer terrorism risk to the private sector.

The new issuance, made through UK-domiciled special purpose vehicle Baltic PCC Limited, replaces the Series 2022-1 bonds, which matured in March.

The 2025-1 Notes were priced at 5.90% and brought in a broader group of global institutional investors than previous placements.

Tom Clementi, CEO of Pool Re, said: “We are committed to reducing the financial burden on UK taxpayers and strengthening national economic resilience through increased private-sector participation in the UK terrorism market.

“As such, we are delighted to have successfully closed our third Cat Bond issuance.

“At Pool Re, we continue to lead the way in raising awareness and encouraging the development of terrorism-focused ILS solutions, and we are pleased to see a record number of global institutional investors participating in this transaction.

“We are also grateful to Moody’s, as the independent risk modeller on this placement, for providing investors with a comprehensive view of risk using the latest Moody’s RMS terrorism model.”

Aon Securities and Howden Capital Markets & Advisory (HCMA) acted as structuring agents and joint bookrunners. Clifford Chance served as legal counsel.

Jordan Brown, managing director of Aon Securities, said: “Aon Securities is honoured to have partnered with Pool Re in bringing this successful transaction to the ILS market.

“We are delighted with the response from the global investor base which is a testament to Pool Re and their team; new investors participated in the offering for the first time, expanding Pool Re’s access to a stable and diverse source of capital and to align with its mission of ceding more risk to the private sector.”

Philipp Kusche, chairman of HCMA Europe and co-head of global ILS, added:
“HCMA is proud to support Pool Re in their efforts to re-enter the Cat Bond market and one of the defining features of this issuance was Pool Re’s holistic and comprehensive marketing efforts. These initiatives aimed to educate potential investors demystifying the nuances of this unique segment and Pool Re successfully attracted numerous additional investors supporting its panel.

“The focused educational campaign not only facilitated the success of this Cat Bond but also laid the groundwork for potential future issuances.”