Insurance broker and underwriter C E Heath Plc, parent to Peterborough Software and Datasure, saw pre-tax profits collapse 92.2% to UKP1.5m for the year ended March 31, after writing off a disappointingly high UKP18.4m for an Australian aviation underwriting provision. The turnover on computer services rose 9.5% to UKP42.9m, and group turnover rose 12.1% to UKP157.7m. Operating profit for Peterborough was up 9.4% at UKP3.8m but down by 44% at Datasure to UKP4.7m. Peterborough, which numbers 73 of The Times Top 100 among its clients, played its usual positive card said Paul Hughes, group finance director. Datasure has watched its customer base erode as it has concentrated on the ailing London insurance market and Lloyd’s syndicates, which have been prone to failures and mergers this year, leaving the legendary names in the deepest of deep despair. But Datasure is a front-runner in the electronic placing market and it is hopeful that this will take off this year.
