Sir Peter Wood rules out new start-ups after £1.2bn Esure sale

Serial entrepreneur Sir Peter Wood on Tuesday ruled out launching any new businesses as he outlined the merits of selling his insurance firm Esure for £1.2 billion.

The insurance tycoon’s comments came as Esure, which owns the Sheila’sWheels brand, said it has agreed to be taken over by private equity firm Bain Capital. Wood stands to make some £360 million for his 30.7% stake.

The recommended offer for the 280p per share deal comes a day after Esure confirmed it had received a bid from the US suitor.

Wood today told the Evening Standard that initial talks first started in April in Palm Beach where he has a property business.

He will “stay on as chairman for a while”.

The 71-year-old entrepreneur, who founded insurer Direct Line, owns numerous property ventures and is also the chairman of price comparison website GoCompare, said he did not plan to register any new companies in the future. He added: “I’m pleasantly full as it is.”

Wood said Bain’s offer “is a very good deal for shareholders”, and the suitor would invest in the business. Bain has until September 10 to announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away.

Esure saw pretax profits drop 20% to £36.1 million, after bad weather dented performance.

However, it added that it is well placed for delivering profitable growth in 2018.

The shares rose 11p to 278.2p.