Shares in insurance group Esure tumbled on Thursday after announcing that the de-merger with Gocompare.com was complete.
Shares in Gocompare were admitted to the London Stock Exchange as a separate entity on Thursday morning, with Esure shareholders receiving one new share in Gocompare for each share they own in esure.
Esure shares fell over 25 percent after the announcement, currently trading down 26.25 percent at 194.70 (1124GMT).
Sir Peter Wood, Chairman of esure Group, said that “the process of de-merging Gocompare.com from esure Group has now been completed.”
“Both businesses will benefit from being able to focus on their distinct strategies, with Gocompare.com operating as a leading UK price and product comparison website and esure Group as a leading UK provider of motor and home insurance,” he added.
Esure separated from price comparison site Gocompare less than two years after its acquisition, giving both companies the chance to focus on their own industries.
Stuart Vann, Chief Executive Officer of esure Group plc, commented:
“As outlined at our 1H 2016 results, we continue to make excellent progress across our strategic initiatives. In the first half of 2016 we grew gross written premiums by over 16% and we remain very well positioned for further growth in our market.”
Both firms will be chaired by Esure founder Peter Wood. It is said that the de-merger will give Gocompare a £75 million debt facility and unlock a £63 million dividend for Esure. Analysts expect the new firm to have a stock market value of about £ 400 million, putting it into the FTSE Small-Cap index. The firm will be joined on the stock market early in 2017 by BGL, which owns rival website Compare the Market and may be valued at around £200 million.