Management to buy loss-making insurer

Claim Direct, the British personal injury insurer, said today it had been approached by management in a move that could lead to a buyout offer.

Claim Direct, having announced a £20m loss for the past financial year, said that chairman Tony Sullman and Colin Poole, his deputy, had flagged their interest in offering to buy the company for a cash price of 10 pence per share.

If it is taken private, Claim Direct's love affair with the public market won't have lasted long. The company floated as recently as July last year, at an issue price of 180 pence per share.

A profit warning in March sent the stock crashing. According to Reuters, the shares closed on Monday at 14.5 pence.