Standard Life UK sales soar 23% in Q1

In the three months to 31 March, UK retail sales grew 23% to £1.8bn, up from £1.4bn for the previous quarter. Total new business sales across all Standard Life's long-term savings operations swelled 30% in Q1 2010, rising to £4.6bn from £3.6bn in Q4 2009. Analysts had expected long-term savings sales of £3.76bn on average, according to a company consensus. Shares in the group, which have dropped almost 9% so far this year, were up 2.1% at 197.5p per share in early trading this morning. Good growth in the company's individual SIPP customer base and assets under administration als...