Clive Cowdery's insurance investment vehicle Resolution is expected to soon unveil plans for a further acquisition in the UK life space after Friends Provident reported a 13% drop in 2009 sales.
Friends, Resolution's first purchase for £1.8bn last year, announced sales in 2009 were £873m compared to £1bn in 2008, measured on an APE basis. Sales in the fourth quarter amounted to £368m compared to £305m for the same quarter of 2008, up 21%. Group pensions sales fell 26% to £310m over 2009, down from £423m the previous year. "This was a strong performance against the backdrop of a year of economic troubles and volatile financial markets," Friends CEO Trevor Matthews says, adding the company is "on track" to deliver its corporate platform this year. "We have good prospects...
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