Type Public company Industry Finance Headquarters Hamilton | Traded as SOM.BH Founded 2012 | |
Subsidiaries Waverton Investment Management | ||
Somers Limited is an investment holding company based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Its shares are traded on the Bermuda Stock Exchange.
Contents
Somers Limited is a financial services investment platform, and the company targets investments primarily in the banking, wealth management and asset financing sectors. Somers Limited has contracted with an external investment manager, ICM Limited to manage its investments
Somers' investments are predominantly in Bermuda, UK and Australia with these three jurisdictions together accounting for over 95% of total investments. Somers' gross assets at December 31, 2016 was US$328 million.
Portfolio Summary
Somers Limited (Somers) has a relatively concentrated portfolio with investments which are primarily focused on the financial services sector (91.9% of the portfolio). Geographically, Bermuda accounts for 40.1% of the portfolio (2015: 60.3%), while the UK 29.6% (2015: 37.3%) and Australia 28.0% (2015: 0.3%), make up most of the balance. The Somers' portfolio consists of the following:
Bermuda Commercial Bank Limited is one of Bermuda’s four licensed banks and remained Somers’ largest investment in 2016. It accounts for 31.9% of the portfolio at the year end (2015).
Homeloans Limited (merged with RESIMAC Limited in 2016) is a leading non-bank lending and multi-channel distribution business in Australia and New Zealand with a managed mortgage loan portfolio of A$9 billion. Its primary activities are as mortgage manager, mortgage broker and in addition, originating, servicing and securitising mortgage assets. Its shares are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and Somers owns approximately 59% of Homeloans with the balance owned by institutional and retail investors.
Private & Commercial Finance Group (PCFG) is a long established AIM-listed finance group that has recently been authorised as a bank by the PFA and the FCA in the UK. PCFG offer both hire purchase and finance lease facilities to consumers and businesses throughout the UK.
Waverton Investment Management Limited is a London-based specialist investment manager with £5.1 billion AUM which accounts for 22.4% of Somers’ portfolio (2015: 30.5%). Somers has a 62.5% holding in Waverton Investment Management Limited.
Ascot Lloyd Holdings Limited is an Independent Financial Adviser (“IFA”) based in the UK. On a fully diluted basis, Somers is interested in 49% of Ascot Lloyd.
MJ Hudson is a UK based specialist law firm and asset management services provider. MJ Hudson was founded in 2010 as a law firm, and it is now a multi-services and infrastructure business, a one-stop outsourcer for asset managers and investors encompassing legal, operating and regulatory, fiduciary, administration and reporting, and investor relations services.
Stockdale Securities Limited is a London based corporate and institutional stockbroking group in which Somers Limited has a 75% interest.
Merrion Capital is an independent Irish financial services firm in which Somers Limited has a 23% equity interest. Merrion has a number of revenue streams including Private Clients, Retail Asset Management, Fixed Income, Corporate Finance and Merrion Investment Management (“MIM”). The two main business lines are MIM (institutional asset management) and Private Clients/Stockbroking.
West Hamilton Holdings Limited is a Bermuda Stock Exchange listed property investment and management company with property assets in Bermuda and in which Somers has a 57.1% equity interest.
Other Investments: Somers Limited has a number of other smaller investments which are a mixture of both unlisted and listed holdings. The total value of these investments as at September 30, 2016, was $8.7 million (2015: $10.4 million).
History
Somers Limited was founded in 2012 as Bermuda National Limited when Bermuda Commercial Bank Limited, founded in 1969, created a new holding company.
In 2013, Somers acquired Private and Commercial Finance Group plc and Waverton Investment Management, formerly known as J. O. Hambro Investment Management.
In the 2014 financial year, Somers' key acquisitions included:
In the 2015 financial year, Somers' key transactions included:
In the 2016 financial year, Somers' key transactions included:
Board of Directors
Sponsorship
Somers Limited announced in 2014 a four-year corporate sponsorship of the Bermuda Olympic Association, covering the next Olympiad which includes the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. As part of the partnership, the Bermuda Olympic Association introduced a youth education programme promoting wellness and involvement in sport.