Update: A statement from concerned LV= members

The proposed LV= demutualisation and sale to private equity company Bain Capital: A request for transparency, and time for proper informed consideration of a complex proposal and its alternatives

This statement is issued by a number of concerned LV= members.
Other LV= members who share these concerns are invited to endorse it.

·       UK regulators the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recognise LV= members as the most important stakeholders in this proposed deal, and require LV= to keep their members fully informed. But despite this, many members feel their voices are not being heard.
·       LV= have not been open with their members throughout the process, although the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Mutuals highlighted lack of transparency as long ago as in their April 2021 Inquiry Report.
·       In particular, LV= members need greater understanding of any financial challenges LV= faces, including those relating to its mutuality. Over the almost 12 months since the Bain proposal was first announced, disclosures about the financial condition of LV= have grown less and less positive, even in the media, where some members turn in the hope of finding the information they need.
·       Significant concerns about possible conflicts of interest relating to those involved with the proposed sale process have not been clarified or resolved.
·       Bain has no direct experience of running a UK protection, savings and retirement provider like LV=, or of managing with-profits funds.
·       Bain is a global company with investors to satisfy, and despite its positive seeming but ambiguous words, there are significant concerns about exactly what they are promising in relation to the future of LV=’s staff and its current locations.  
·       We believe the 10 December 2021 Special General Meeting and Members Meeting – the current deadline for members to cast their votes – should be adjourned.
·       We encourage all interested parties to engage in good-faith discussions to explore alternative options which might offer a positive outcome for the UK protection, savings and retirement market, the mutuals sector, and all LV= members and staff.
·       We believe that LV= non-executive directors should take control of all future negotiations, to ensure an independent approach to whatever emerges.
·       For us, this is not about the prospect of a one-off payment of £60 or £100 in October 2022; some members would prefer to see an outcome where their policies, including with-profits policies, continue to be managed by an organisation which has a mutual ethos and with-profits experience.

We urge the LV= Board to listen to its members.

Endorsers:

Duncan McGibbon

Peter Bloxham

John Higgins

Clarissa Johnson

Jane Rogers

Roger Walters

Laurence Whitehouse