Aspen Insurance got off to a good start as a public company yesterday with its shares opening on the first day of trading at $25 - significantly higher than its $22.50 pricing.

The Bermuda-based company - which has its most significant operations in London and having recently moved into the US market - was launching its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.

On hand at the opening of trading yesterday, to ring the NYSE opening bell in recognition of their big day, was chief executive officer Chris O'Kane, chief financial officer Julian Cusack and chief operating officer Sarah Davies.

In the early afternoon, Mr. Cusack told in a telephone call from New York, that the shares had been doing “very well” - trading yesterday ranged from $24 to $25.75 - and he said the timing of the IPO, with Aspen announcing its plan to do a share offering some months ago, had worked out well.

“It was very exciting for us to see the ticker (AHL) up there. And we opened at $25 which was priced above the range $20 to $22 a share indicated in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.”

He called the day's activity “very encouraging”.

Mr. Cusack, who is based in Bermuda, said Aspen had increased the deal size to 10.5 million shares, based on demand with one million shares being added on top of what was originally supposed to be an offering of 9.5 million shares.

He added that there was also a 15 percent over-allotment option that could be exercised, but wouldn't say if that would happen. Aspen, a property and casualty reinsurance company, was formed in June, 2002 with initial backing from several investors including Wellington Underwriting Plc and Bermuda-based Montpelier Re. All of the senior executives at Aspen actually moved to the company from top jobs at Wellington. With them, they took 36 staff but Mr. Cusack said this was all done with the “complete blessing” of Wellington who agreed that Aspen would take on its property and casualty lines and its UK operations.

Wellington yesterday said its stake in Aspen after the IPO would be a 16.7 percent holding in the company, worth ?146.5 million or $252.5 million, based on the $22.50 pricing.

The stake is worth 30 pence a share for Wellington, the company said in a press statement.

Looking to next year, Mr. Cusack said Aspen intended to grow the business it wrote from its Bermuda operation, but that the lion's share would still be done from London which it intends to keep as its largest operation. In total, he said the group had grown to about 140 staff.

Aspen's IPO is on the heels of numerous other Bermuda-based insurance start-ups going public after losses from the September, 2001 terrorist attacks left older insurers unable to meet the demand from buyers.

The next to launch its shares, and most likely on the London Stock Exchange, from Bermuda, should be insurance company Catlin.

Since October, 2002, five other companies listed - Alea, Axis, Endurance, Montpelier and Platinum.

The company sold $961.1 million worth of policies in the first nine months of this year. Between May and December, 2002 it sold $312.6 million worth of policies. The proceeds from the sale will reportedly be used to bolster capital and pay debt.

Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. managed the sale, sharing fees of $16.6 million with Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., UBS AG, Dowling & Partners Securities LLC, Fox-Pitt Kelton and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., according to international news reports.