STLY 10-Q Quarter ended June 30, 2023

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In the opinion of the Company (as defined below), these statements include all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results of all interim periods reported herein. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. Certain information and footnote disclosures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) have been either condensed or omitted pursuant to SEC rules and regulations. However, the Company believes that the disclosures made are adequate for a fair presentation of results of operations and financial position. Operating results for the interim periods reported herein may not be indicative of the results expected for the year. These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10 -K filed with the SEC on March 30, 2023.

HG Holdings, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries (the “Company,” “we,” ‘us” or “our”), operates through its wholly owned subsidiaries, National Consumer Title Insurance Company (“NCTIC”), National Consumer Title Group, LLC (“NCTG”), Title Agency Ventures, LLC (“TAV”), HG Managing Agency, LLC (“HGMA”), and Omega National Title Agency, LLC (“Omega”), and through an affiliated investment in HC Government Realty Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation (“HC Realty”).

Description of the Business

Title Insurance

The Company engages in issuing title insurance through its subsidiary, NCTIC, and providing title agency services through its subsidiaries, NCTG, TAV, and Omega. Through NCTIC, the Company underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as the primary insurer. The Company currently only provides title insurance services in the state of Florida.

Title insurance protects against loss or damage resulting from title defects that affect real property. When real property is conveyed from one party to another, occasionally there is an undisclosed defect in the title or a mistake or omission in a prior deed, will or mortgage that may give a third party a legal claim against such property.  If a covered claim is made against real property, title insurance provides indemnification against insured defects. There are two basic types of title insurance policies – one for the mortgage lender and one for the real property owner.  A lender often requires the property owner to purchase a lender’s title insurance policy to protect its position as a holder of a mortgage loan, but the lender’s title insurance policy does not protect the property owner.  The property owner has to purchase a separate owner’s title insurance policy to protect its investment.

NCTIC issues title insurance policies in Florida through its home office and through a network of affiliated and independent title agents.  In the State of Florida, issuing agents are independent agents or subsidiaries of community and regional mortgage lending institutions, depending on local customs and regulations.  The ability to attract and retain issuing agents is a key determinant of the Company’s growth in title insurance premiums written.

Revenues for the title insurance segment primarily result from purchases of new and existing residential and commercial real estate, refinance activity and certain other types of mortgage lending such as home equity lines of credit. Title insurance premiums vary from state to state and are subject to extensive regulation. Statutes generally provide that rates must not be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. The process of implementing a rate change in most states involves pre-approval by the applicable state insurance regulator.

Volume is a factor in the Company’s title insurance operation’s profitability due to fixed operating costs that are incurred regardless of title insurance premium volume.  The resulting operating leverage tends to amplify the impact of changes in volume on profitability.  The Company’s title insurance profitability also depends, in part, upon its ability to manage its investment portfolio to maximize investment returns and to minimize risks such as interest rate changes, defaults and impairments of assets.

The Company’s volume of title insurance premiums is affected by the overall level of residential and commercial real estate activity, which includes property sales, mortgage financing and mortgage refinancing.  Real estate activity, home sales and mortgage lending are cyclical in nature. Real estate activity is affected by a number of factors, including the availability of mortgage credit, the cost of real estate, consumer confidence, employment and family income levels, and general United States economic conditions.  Interest rate volatility is also an important factor in the level of residential and commercial real estate activity.

The Company’s title insurance premiums in future periods are likely to fluctuate due to these and other factors which are beyond management’s control.

Historically, the title insurance business tends to be seasonal as well as cyclical. Because home sales are typically strongest in periods of favorable weather, the first calendar quarter tends to have the lowest activity levels, while the spring and summer months tend to be more active. Mortgage refinance activity tends to be influenced less by seasonality and more by economic cycles, with activity levels increasing during times of falling interest rates.

Real Estate Related

The Company engages in rental real estate through its equity investment in HC Realty.  HC Realty is an internally-managed real estate investment trust (“REIT”) focused on acquiring, developing, financing, owning and managing build-to-suit or renovate-to-suit, single-tenant properties leased primarily to the U.S. government and administered by the U.S. General Services Administration or directly by the federal government agencies or sub-agencies occupying such properties (referred to as “Government Properties”).  HC Realty invests primarily in Government Properties ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 rentable square feet that are in their initial lease term after original construction or renovation-to-suit. HC Realty further emphasizes Government Properties that perform law enforcement, public service or other functions that support the mission of the agencies or sub-agencies occupying such properties.  Leases associated with the Government Properties in which HC Realty invests are full faith and credit obligations of the United States of America.  HC Realty intends to grow its portfolio primarily through direct acquisitions and development of Government Properties; although, HC Realty may elect to invest in Government Properties through indirect investments, such as joint ventures.

The Company currently owns 300,000 shares of HC Realty’s Common Stock (the “HC Common Stock”) and 1,025,000 shares of HC Realty’s 10.00 % Series B Cumulative Convertible Preferred stock (the “HC Series B Stock”). On March 19, 2019, we purchased 300,000 shares of HC Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $ 3,000,000 and 200,000 shares of HC Series B Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $ 2,000,000 . On April 3, April 9, and June 29, 2020, the Company entered into subscription agreements with HC Realty, pursuant to which we purchased 100,000 , 250,000 , and 475,000 shares of HC Series B Stock, respectively, for an aggregate purchase price of $ 8,250,000 . As a result of these purchases, we currently own approximately 26.05 % of the voting interest of HC Realty.

As of June 30, 2023, HC Realty owned 35 Government Properties, comprised of 33 Government Properties that it owns and two Government Properties that it owns subject to a ground lease, each of which is leased to the United States government and occupied by tenant agencies and sub-agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Immigration & Customs Enforcement, the Social Security Administration and the Department of Transportation. HC Realty’s portfolio properties contain approximately 663,000 leased rentable square feet located in 22 states. As of June 30, 2023, its portfolio properties are 98 % leased to the United States government and occupied by 12 different federal government agencies. Based on leased rentable square feet, the portfolio has a weighted average remaining lease term of 9.2 years if none of the tenants’ early termination rights are exercised and 5.7 years if all of the tenants’ early termination rights are exercised.

Reinsurance Related

The Company, through the formation of White Rock USA Cell 47, previously engaged in providing another insurance company excess-of-loss reinsurance coverage related to catastrophic weather risk in Texas. The Company does not currently have any reinsurance contracts in-force during the six month period ended June 30, 2023; however, the Company may actively look to provide reinsurance coverage to other carriers as future opportunities arise.

Management Advisory Services Related

The Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary HGMA, engages in providing management advisory services including formation, operational, and restructuring services.

Effective April 1, 2023, the Company, through HGMA, engages in providing management advisory services to a related captive managing general agency regarding its anticipated assumption of policies from Citizens Property Insurance Company.  The services include underwriting, modeling, and advising on the subset of potential policies selected for the proposed assumption.  The engagement is for six months from the effective date of the agreement at a monthly fee of $ 200,000 .

Effective April 1, 2023, the Company, through HGMA, engages in providing management advisory services to a related reinsurance intermediary. The services include legal formation, licensure, regulatory approval, and other general operational services to allow the intermediary to adequately perform its business functions. The engagement is for twelve months from the effective date of the agreement at a monthly fee of $ 50,000 .

For information about our reportable segments, refer to Note 9 Segment Information .

Developments Impacting Comparison of the Three- and Six-Month Periods ended June 30, 2023 and 2022

Effective August 1, 2022, Omega acquired substantially all the assets of Omega Title Florida, LLC (“OTF”). In accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 805, the Company has determined that the transaction should be accounted for as a business combination. The acquisition allows Omega to expand into additional geographic areas of Florida and expand its footprint.

For information about our business combinations, refer to Note 12 Business Combinations .

The Company received a $ 7.4 million subordinated secured promissory note (the “Original Note”) from Stanley Furniture Company, LLC, formerly known as Churchill Downs, LLC (the “Buyer”), as partial consideration for the sale of substantially all of our assets to the Buyer during the first quarter of 2018 (the “Asset Sale”). On September 6, 2018, the Buyer sold certain of its assets (the “S&L Asset Sale”), including certain inventory and the Stone & Leigh tradename to Stone & Leigh, LLC (“S&L”), which is owned by a group which includes Matthew W. Smith, the Company’s former interim Chief Executive Officer. As a part of the S&L Asset Sale, the Buyer assigned to S&L certain of its rights and obligations under the Original Note. In connection with the assignment, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Subordinated Secured Promissory Note with the Buyer (the “A&R Note”) and a new Subordinated Secured Promissory Note with S&L (the “S&L Note”). The A&R Note had a principal amount as of the assignment date of $ 3.3 million.

S&L Note

The S&L Note had a principal amount of $ 4.4 million as of the assignment date. The S&L Note matured on March 2, 2023, at which time the total principal amount became due. Interest on the S&L Note accrues at a fixed rate of 10 % per annum. No cash interest payments were accrued or received during the three or six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022.

As a result of the Company’s recording of impairment losses in prior quarters, based on current information and events, including the impact of COVID- 19 on S&L’s business and its customers, the Company fully impaired the S&L Note as of December 31, 2022. Upon maturity on March 2, 2023, S&L informed the Company that it will not be able to pay the Company any amounts outstanding including principal or interest due. Any future recoveries from S&L, if any, will be recognized as Other Income on the Company’s Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations when the recoveries are recognized.

The HC Series B Stock is not deemed to be in-substance common stock and is accounted for using the measurement alternative for equity investments with no readily determinable fair value. The HC Series B Stock will be reported at cost, adjusted for impairments or any observable price changes in ordinary transactions with identical or similar investments issued by HC Realty.

The following table summarizes the Company’s investment in HC Realty as of June 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022 ( in thousands):

The Company’s investment in HC Common Stock is accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

The following table details investments by major investment category, at June 30, 2023 ( in thousands):

The following table details investments by major investment category, at December 31, 2022 ( in thousands):

The table below summarizes our fixed maturities at June 30, 2023 ( dollars in thousands) by contractual maturity periods. Actual results may differ as issuers may have the right to call or prepay obligations, with or without penalties, prior to the contractual maturities of those obligations.

Fair value measurement

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The hierarchy for inputs used in determining fair value maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that observable inputs be used when available. Assets and liabilities recorded on our Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value are categorized in the fair value hierarchy based on the observability of inputs to the valuation techniques as follows:

Level 1: Assets and liabilities whose values are based on unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in an active market that we can access.

Level 2: Assets and liabilities whose values are based on the following:

Level 3: Assets and liabilities whose values are based on prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. Unobservable inputs reflect our estimates of the assumptions that market participants would use in valuing the assets and liabilities.

We estimate the fair value of our investments using the closing prices on the last business day of the reporting period, obtained from active markets such as the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and NYSE American. For securities for which quoted prices in active markets are unavailable, we use a third -party pricing service that utilizes quoted prices in active markets for similar instruments, benchmark interest rates, broker quotes and other relevant inputs to estimate the fair value of those securities for which quoted prices are unavailable. Our estimates of fair value reflect the interest rate environment that existed as of the close of business on June 30, 2023. Changes in interest rates subsequent to June 30, 2023 may affect the fair value of our investments.

The fair value of our fixed maturities is initially calculated by a third -party pricing service. Valuation service providers typically obtain data about market transactions and other key valuation model inputs from multiple sources and, through the use of proprietary models, produce valuation information in the form of a single fair value for individual fixed-income and other securities for which a fair value has been requested. The inputs used by the valuation service providers include, but are not limited to, market prices from recently completed transactions and transactions of comparable securities, interest rate yield curves, credit spreads, liquidity spreads, currency rates and other information, as applicable. Credit and liquidity spreads are typically implied from completed transactions and transactions of comparable securities. Valuation service providers also use proprietary discounted cash flow models that are widely accepted in the financial services industry and similar to those used by other market participants to value the same financial information. The valuation models take into account, among other things, market observable information as of the measurement date, as described above, as well as the specific attributes of the security being valued, including its term, interest rate, credit rating, industry sector and, where applicable, collateral quality and other issue or issuer specific information. Executing valuation models effectively requires seasoned professional judgment and experience.

All fixed-income securities are classified as held-to-maturity and are reported at amortized cost as of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022. The Company performs ongoing impairment evaluations, and we did not record any other then temporary impairments during the three or six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022.

The Company’s other investments include investments in limited partnerships whose purpose is to invest capital in various growth-oriented enterprises. The Company does not have significant influence over any investee and the Company’s investment typically represents less than 5% of the investee’s ownership. These investments do not meet the criteria of accounting under the equity method.

The following table presents the fair value of our financial instruments measured on a recurring basis by level at June 30, 2023 ( in thousands):

The following table presents the fair value of our financial instruments measured on a recurring basis by level at December 31, 2022 ( in thousands):

The following table presents selected information regarding Level 3 assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis during the six month period ended June 30, 2023 ( in thousands):

The following table presents selected information regarding Level 3 assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis during the year ended December 31, 2022 ( in thousands):

NCTIC’s reserves for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses are established using estimated amounts required to settle claims for which notice has been received (reported) and the amount estimated to be required to satisfy claims that have been incurred but not yet reported (“IBNR”). Despite the variability of such estimates, management believes that the total reserve for claims is adequate to cover claim losses which might result from pending and future claims under title insurance policies issued through June 30, 2023. We continually update loss reserve estimates as new information becomes known, new loss patterns emerge or as other contributing factors are considered and incorporated into the analysis of reserve for claim losses. Due to the uncertainty inherent in the process and to the judgment used by management, the ultimate liability may be greater or less than our current reserves. If actual claims loss development varies from what is currently expected and is not offset by other factors, it is possible that additional reserve adjustments may be required in future periods in order to maintain our recorded reserve within a reasonable range of our actuary's central estimate.

A reconciliation of the activity in the reserves account for the six month period ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 is as follows (in thousands):

At June 30, 2023, there were no reinsurance recoverables on paid claims or unpaid reserves.

For the six months ended June 30, 2023, there was no development of the net provision for claims attributable to insured events of the prior year as a result of estimation of the reserve for claims. Original estimates are decreased or increased as additional information becomes known regarding individual claims.

A summary of the Company’s loss reserves at June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 are as follows (in thousands):

Certain premiums and benefits at NCTIC are ceded to other insurance companies under various reinsurance agreements. The reinsurance agreements provide NCTIC with increased capacity to write more risk and maintain its exposure to loss within its capital resources. For the six month period ended June 30, 2023, NCTIC's reinsurance program consisted of excess of loss reinsurance treaties. The following is a summary of the reinsurance coverage.

Effective January 1, 2023, NCTIC entered into a per risk excess of loss reinsurance agreement that provides coverage of $ 4,000,000 in excess of $ 1,000,000 on each and every risk. The contract allows for one full reinstatement at 100 % additional premium as to time and pro rata as to amount. This per risk agreement is shared with other non-affiliated companies. Each company pays its share of the reinsurance cost based on separate company earned premiums. The agreement expires December 31, 2023.

Effective January 1, 2022, NCTIC entered into a reinstatement premium protection reinsurance agreement to reinsure the reinstatement premium payment obligations of NCTIC under the shared per risk excess of loss agreement. The coverage was limited to 100 % of the original contracted reinsurance placement. This agreement was shared with the other nonaffiliated companies. Each company paid its share of the reinsurance cost based on separate company earned premiums. The agreement expired on December 31, 2022.

NCTIC’s reinsured risks are treated, to the extent of reinsurance, as though they are risks for which the Company is not liable. However, NCTIC remains contingently liable in the event the reinsuring companies do not meet their obligations under these reinsurance contracts. NCTIC uses a broker to place its reinsurance through Lloyd’s syndicates, a group of underwriters who work together to provide insurance coverage for a variety of risks. Chaucer Ltd (“Chaucer”) and Beazley Syndicate (“Beazley”) are each 50 % participants in the Lloyd’s syndicate. As such, NCTIC has a concentration of reinsurance risk with these third party reinsurers that could have a material impact on NCTIC’s financial position in the event that either of these reinsurers fail to perform their obligations under the reinsurance treaty. As of June 30, 2023, both reinsurers had an A-issuer credit rating from AM Best, an AA- from Fitch, and an A+ from S&P. The Company monitors both the financial condition of individual reinsurers and risk concentration arising from similar activities and economic characteristics of reinsurers to attempt to reduce the risk of default by such reinsurers. Given the quality of the reinsurers, management believes this possibility to be remote. See Note 5 Reserve for Title Claims for recoveries due from reinsurers relating to paid and unpaid claims under these treaties.

The effects of reinsurance on premiums written and earned at NCTIC are as follows:

NCTIC's assets, liabilities, and results of operations have been reported in accordance with GAAP, which varies from statutory accounting practices (“SAP”) prescribed or permitted by insurance regulatory authorities. Prescribed SAP are found in a variety of publications of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”), state laws and regulations, as well as through general practices. The principal differences between SAP and GAAP are that under SAP: ( 1 ) certain assets that are not admitted assets are eliminated from the balance sheet, ( 2 ) a supplemental reserve for claims is charged directly to unassigned surplus rather than provision for claims under GAAP, and ( 3 ) differences may arise in the computation of deferred income taxes. The Company must file with applicable state insurance regulatory authorities an “Annual Statement” which reports, among other items, net income (loss) and stockholders' equity (called “surplus as regards policyholders” in statutory reporting).

The Company has four reportable segments, title insurance services, reinsurance, management services, and real estate. The remaining immaterial segments have been combined into a group called “Corporate and Other.” The title insurance segment issues title insurance policies, which insures titles to real estate, and provides title agency services for residential and commercial real estate transactions. The real estate segment, through an affiliate investment in HC Realty, owns and operates a portfolio of single-tenant properties leased primarily to the U.S. government and administered by the U.S. General Services Administration or directly by the federal government agencies or sub-agencies occupying such properties.

Provided below is selected financial information about the Company’s operations by segment for the six months ended June 30, 2023 ( in thousands):

Provided below is selected financial information about the Company’s operations by segment for the six months ended June 30, 2022 ( in thousands):