Willis Group Holdings Limited (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today reported results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2007.

“Our results this quarter once again illustrate the continued execution of our Shaping our Future strategy for profitable growth,” said Joe Plumeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We have delivered yet another quarter with strong new business-driven top line growth in a soft rate environment, operating margin expansion and earnings growth.”

Third Quarter 2007 Financial Results

Reported net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 was $67 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, compared with $89 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, a year ago. The results for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 were affected by a $91 million net of tax gain on the sale of the Company's London headquarters and significant expenditure on 2006 Shaping our Future initiatives.

Excluding those items, reported (and adjusted) net income was $67 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 compared with adjusted net income of $57 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings per diluted share increased 28 percent to $0.46 in the quarter ended September 30, 2007, up from $0.36 a year ago. Third quarter 2007 earnings per diluted share included a $0.07 benefit from the release of tax provisions relating to the resolution of prior period tax positions. Foreign currency translation had a negative impact of $0.02 per diluted share on third quarter 2007 compared with the third quarter 2006.

Total reported revenues for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 rose 6 percent to $574 million compared to $543 million in the third quarter 2006. The effect of foreign currency translation increased reported revenues by 2 percent and net acquisitions had a positive impact of 1 percent on reported revenues.

Organic growth in commissions and fees, which excludes market remuneration, was 4 percent in the third quarter 2007. This growth was attributed to net new business won of 6 percent; there was a negative 2 percent impact from declining premium rates tempered by other market factors such as higher commission rates, higher insured values and changes in limits and exposures.

The International business unit contributed 7 percent organic growth in commissions and fees in the third quarter 2007, North America contributed 2 percent organic growth and Global, which comprises Global Specialties and Reinsurance, contributed 2 percent organic growth. Global Specialties showed double-digit organic revenue growth offset by weaker Reinsurance organic growth from declining premium rates and significantly higher retentions by primary underwriters.

Reported operating margin was 16.2 percent for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 compared with 17.9 percent for the same period last year.

Adjusted operating margin was 16.2 percent for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, an improvement of 110 basis points from 15.1 percent a year ago, excluding the 2006 gain on sale of the Company's London headquarters and the Shaping our Future initiative expenses. The margin improvement continued to be driven by execution of our Shaping our Future initiatives, cost savings from the 2006 charges, good expense control and lower pension expense. This was tempered by the effect of foreign currency translation in the third quarter 2007 which reduced adjusted operating margin by approximately 100 basis points.

We continue to estimate that the annualized net benefit from the 2006 Shaping our Future charges will be approximately $20 million in 2007, $30 million by 2008 and $45 million by 2009.

Reported salaries and benefits expenses were $352 million, or 61.3 percent of total revenues, in the third quarter 2007 compared with reported salaries and benefits expenses of $383 million, or 70.5 percent of total revenues, a year ago. Excluding the 2006 Shaping our Future charges, salaries and benefits as a percentage of revenues decreased to 61.3 percent in the third quarter 2007 from 62.6 percent a year ago.

Reported (and adjusted) other operating expenses were $116 million, or 20.2 percent of total revenues in the third quarter 2007. This compares with reported other operating expenses of $138 million, or 25.4 percent of revenues, and adjusted other operating expenses of $106 million or 19.5 percent of revenues, in the third quarter 2006. Practical completion of the new building in London was achieved at the end of the second quarter 2007; consequently an additional lease expense of $8 million has been recognized in third quarter 2007 compared to the same period a year ago.

Nine Months 2007 Financial Results

Reported net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 was $314 million, or $2.12 per diluted share, compared with $301 million, or $1.89 per diluted share a year ago. The results for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 were significantly affected by a $91 million net of tax gain on the sale of the Company's London headquarters and significant expenditure on 2006 Shaping our Future initiatives.

Excluding those items, reported (and adjusted) net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 was $314 million compared with adjusted net income of $269 million a year ago, an increase of 17 percent. Adjusted earnings per diluted share increased 25 percent to $2.12 in the nine months ended September 30, 2007, up from $1.69 a year ago. Earnings per diluted share for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 included a $0.07 benefit from the release of tax provisions relating to prior period tax positions. Foreign currency translation had a negative impact of $0.01 on earnings per diluted share through the nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared with the same period in 2006.

Total reported revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 were $1.9 billion, an increase of 7 percent compared to the prior year. The effect of foreign currency translation increased reported revenues by 2 percent and net acquisitions of operations increased reported revenues by 1 percent.

Organic growth in commissions and fees was 4 percent for the nine months ended September 30, 2007. This growth was attributed to net new business won of 5 percent; there was a negative 1 percent impact from declining premium rates tempered by other market factors such as higher commission rates, higher insured values and changes in limits and exposures.

Reported operating margin was 24.2 percent for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared with 23.2 percent for the same period last year.

Excluding the 2006 gain on sale of the Company's London headquarters and the Shaping our Future initiative expenses, adjusted operating margin was 22.4 percent a year ago compared with 24.2 percent for the nine months ended September 30, 2007, an improvement of 180 basis points. The margin improvement continued to be driven by execution of Shaping our Future initiatives, good expense control and lower pension expense. This was tempered by the negative effect of foreign currency translation in the nine month ended September 30, 2007 of approximately 100 basis points.

The effective underlying tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 was 30.5 percent, excluding the tax effects of the disposal of the London headquarters, share-based compensation and the benefit of the release of tax provisions relating to the resolution of prior period tax positions.

Capital

The Board of Directors today declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on the Company's common stock of $0.25 per share, an annual rate of $1.00 per share. The dividend is payable on January 14, 2008 to shareholders of record on December 31, 2007.

The Company made no additional share repurchases in the third quarter 2007. For the nine months ended September 30, 2007, a total of 11.5 million shares have been repurchased for $458 million under accelerated share repurchase programs (ASRs) as part of the existing $1 billion authorization program. The program for the $400 million ASR announced March 29, 2007 was completed on October 18, 2007 with a final settlement of $23 million. There is $308 million remaining under the $1 billion share buyback authorization, which is anticipated to be utilized by the end of 2008.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2007, the Company acquired Chicago-based InsuranceNoodle, a leading internet distributor of U.S. small business property-casualty insurance with annual revenues of approximately $6 million. The company also purchased an additional 17 percent holding in Coyle Hamlton Willis, the largest insurance and reinsurance broker, pensions, actuarial and risk management consultancy in the Republic of Ireland, raising its total shareholding to 86 percent.

As at September 30, 2007, cash and cash equivalents totaled $210 million, total debt was $1.2 billion and total stockholders' equity was approximately $1.3 billion.

Outlook

For the full year 2007, Willis expects to continue to grow organic revenue and expand adjusted operating margin modestly to approximately 24 percent.

The Company expects to deliver breakout financial performance. Specifically, by the full year 2010, the Company has set financial targets of salaries and benefits expense as a percentage of total revenues to be below 54 percent, adjusted operating margin of 28 percent or better and industry leading organic revenue growth.

“We are building a Company for success in all market environments, delivering solid, profitable growth this quarter despite the soft market,” said Mr. Plumeri. “Our plan is to continue to execute Shaping our Future, and drive revenue growth while maintaining our ongoing expense discipline.”

Conference Call and Web Cast

A conference call to discuss third quarter 2007 results will be held on October 25, 2007 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To participate in the live teleconference, please dial (888) 566-5771 (domestic) or +1 (210) 839-8503 (international) with a passcode of "Willis." The live audio web cast (which will be listen-only) may be accessed at www.willis.com. This call will be available by replay starting at approximately 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, and ending November 25, 2007 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, by calling (866) 431-2816 (domestic) or +1 (203) 369-0947 (international) with no passcode, or by accessing the website.

Willis Group Holdings Limited is a leading global insurance broker, developing and delivering professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Including our Associates, we have around 300 offices in some 100 countries, with a global team of approximately 16,000 employees serving clients in some 190 countries. Additional information on Willis may be found on its website www.willis.com.

This press release may contain certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated, depending on a variety of factors such as general economic conditions in different countries around the world, fluctuations in global equity and fixed income markets, changes in premium rates, the competitive environment and the actual cost of resolution of contingent liabilities. Further information concerning the Company and its business, including factors that potentially could materially affect the Company's financial results are contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This press release includes supplemental financial information which may contain references to non-GAAP financial measures as defined in Regulation G of SEC rules. Consistent with Regulation G, a reconciliation of this supplemental financial information to our generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) information follows. We present such non-GAAP supplemental financial information, as we believe such information is of interest to the investment community because it provides additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of the Company's operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent on a GAAP basis. This supplemental financial information should be viewed in addition to, not in lieu of, the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007.