A seventh reinsurance venture - to be called Goshawk Re - looks ready to set up on the Island, in the wake of "unprecedented business opportunities" following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

UK Insurer Goshawk Insurance Holdings announced yesterday that it is raising around ?100 million to fund the formation of this new reinsurance subsidiary, to be based in Bermuda.

Goshawk chair David Hooker said the company, in setting up Goshawk Re, is responding to market demand, and cited Bermuda as a more attractive jurisdiction, than the UK, for the new venture.

Mr. Hooker said: "The larger part of our expansion is planned through a new Bermudan reinsurance company which will benefit from a more attractive fiscal and regulatory regime than that in the UK."

He added: "Goshawk is well positioned to benefit from virtually unprecedented business opportunities in the global insurance and reinsurance environment."

This marks the seventh venture (so far) to announce its intention to set up in Bermuda since September 11. All together, the new companies - which have attracted some of the top names in the industry - are expected to have a total of $6.4 billion in capital.

Goshawk Insurance Holdings is raising around ?101.3 million through a placing and open offer of 103,409,752 new Goshawk shares at 98 pence per share.

Goshawk said the placing and open offer is the largest share issue ever undertaken by the group and more than doubles the share capital of the company. Goshawk said the net proceeds of the placing and open offer will be applied to capitalise and provide working capital for the new Bermudan reinsurance unit, Goshawk Reinsurance Limited - or Goshawk Re.

The office of the Registry General confirmed yesterday that Goshawk Re had been approved to set up on the Island as a Class 4 reinsurer - which requires the company to have a minimum of $100 million in capital, and the intention of providing excess liability and property catastrophe reinsurance.

The company - which intends to commence underwriting in 2002 - said it plans to underwrite marine excess liability, non-marine catastrophe, marine retrocession, aviation XL and finite reinsurance. It also plans to write premium income exceeding $150 million US in its first year of business. Goshawk's London based insurance Syndicate 102 is also increasing its capacity in the Lloyd's market from ?150 million to ?185 million for 2002. This expansion will be funded without raising additional capital. The group said it has made a careful evaluation of its possible exposures to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US. The group no longer writes any material direct aviation business and the property book has no significant property exposures in the area around the World Trade Center.

Following its most recent review, Goshawk said it now believes that the group's net exposure will be less than $12 million but the board has decided to maintain its estimate at that level, for reasons of prudence.

Whilst confident in their decision to seek increased capacity for 2002, the directors said they are also considering their further responses to the rating environment. These could justify a reduction in the levels of outwards reinsurance which the group has applied to its business in the past.