21.03.2007 |
Share in Vitosha increased to 51% from 20%
In July 2005 already the UNIQA Group had acquired 20% of Vitosha's share capital as well as management responsibility from the previous strategic majority share holder Equest. Simultaneously, the later acquisition of the controlling interest by UNIQA had already been agreed in 2005. "The timing for this step was perfect", says UNIQA's managing director Dr. Konstantin Klien and continues to state that "Bulgaria as on of the European Union's most recent members with its more than 7.3 million inhabitants is a very promising market holding a high potential and Vitosha has shown an excellent development. Apart from the excellent co-operation with our partner Equest, our strategic partnership with Raiffeisenbank has also become a driving force of business. The preferred partnership is showing highly positive developments both in the banking and leasing sectors."
Rebranding - Vitosha becomes UNIQA
In order to reflect the integration of the Bulgarian Vitosha on all levels the majority acquisition of shares is accompanied by a rebranding and name change from "Vitosha - part of UNIQA Group Austria" to UNIQA. Klien: "While acquiring the majority share we are also setting a clear signal for the future of the companies as members of the UNIQA Group".
Vitosha - strong growth in 2006
Just like the subsidiary Vitosha Life AD, the Vitosha non-life insurance ZPD Vitosha was founded in 1992 as a private company. Together the two companies achieved a premium volume of approximately 42 million Euros in the year 2006 according to preliminary data. This amounts to a growth of 28.6% over 2005; for the entire Bulgarian insurance market an increase of approximately 16.2% is expected. The market share of the now UNIQA subsidiaries consequently rose to approximately 6.6%.
In non-life insurances Vitosha was able to record a growth by 21.3% to 33.9 million euros. In line with the general market situation Vitosha's portfolio is dominated by automobile insurances while the life insurance sector, despite of showing a higher-than-average growth, is yet underrepresented at 8.09 million euros (that is a plus of 72.3% over 2005).
The head office of Vitosha insurances is located in Sofia, distribution and customer service are carried out through a well-developed network of more than 100 branch offices, brokers and representations covering the whole country. Vitosha has almost 400 employees.
Vienna, 21. March 2007