Mapfre Middlesea plc - 2009 Q4 Performance

On 11 January 2010, Middlesea Insurance plc announced that preliminary unaudited data for the last quarter of 2009 indicate a marked deterioration in claims experience at the Italian subsidiary Progress Assicurazioni. The Board of Progress has appointed an external firm of professional investigative specialists to review the position.

On the other hand, the preliminary unaudited data relating to Middlesea Insurance and Middlesea Valletta Life indicate a better financial performance than that disclosed in the Rights Issue Prospectus dated 20 November 2009. Nonetheless, the Directors stated that the deterioration at Progress during the last three months of 2009 will most likely lead to a greater loss for 2009 than the €41.8 million forecasted in the aforementioned Rights Issue Prospectus.