Speculation mounts over future of Aegon in UK
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Speculation is mounting over the future of Aegon in the UK after reports that the dutch life company is looking to sell off its UK life and pensions assets for £1.5bn.
A spokeswoman for Aegon says the reports, which appeared in the Mail on Sunday yesterday, are “pure speculation”.
The firm has confirmed that global chief executive Alex Wyneandts is holding a conference for investors and analysts tomorrow morning, which will outline the group’s global strategy and provide an update on its plans for the UK.
Aegon’s distribution businesses Origen and Positive Solutions recorded a loss of £2m for the first quarter of the year compared with a loss of £8m in the fourth quarter and a loss of £3m in the first quarter of 2009. The two firms lost a combined £16m in 2009.
Aegon recently appointed Clare Bousfield from Swiss Re as chief financial officer for the UK business taking over from Bill Robertson who left the insurer.
Earlier this year, Aegon announced a reshuffle of its UK team with Adrian Grace becoming chief operating officer, life and pensions, Iain Black appointed as chief operating officer of distribution and Patrick Gale appointed as chairman of the distribution board overseeing Origen and Positive Solutions.
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Readers' comments (10)
Robert Donaldson | 21 Jun 2010 9:41 am
The end of the life insurance company as you know it is nigh!
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Evan Owen | 21 Jun 2010 10:15 am
They should have sold it off a bit sooner. Are its wholly owned subsidiaries a massive liability? Only the FSA will know, well perhaps not just the FSA.
The FSCS will have to be sorted out PDQ.
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Anonymous | 21 Jun 2010 2:09 pm
I wonder at what point are the FSA/ BOE / monopolies and mergers commission / any other interested party, are going to ask the question, what upcoming change to the financial services industry is going to limit profitability so much that they are clamouring to get out of the UK retail space.
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Anonymous | 21 Jun 2010 3:12 pm
No margin in the UK especially the way Insurance Companies are run here, let's have a meeting about the meeting that's happening next month, oh it's been cancelled!
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Dave | 21 Jun 2010 3:17 pm
any life company that is owned by a non-UK company is goign to be tempted to drop out of the UK. If you are Axa/Aegon/Pru (mainly non-UK markets) then as a firm you have to decide if the money invested in the UK could be allocated elsewhere in the world and make more money. with lots of competition, lots of regulation and downward pressure on prices, why would you stay in the UK?
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Mr Fisher | 21 Jun 2010 3:26 pm
The end ?
For UK insurance - could it just be that mountains of ever changing and ever more costly regulation make it untenable to operate?
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Simon Mansell | 21 Jun 2010 5:52 pm
This is the RDR straw that has finally broken the back of UK financial services. Let’s be quite frank about this the FSA has made it so unprofitable to operate in the UK this group is now voting with its feet – many others will follow as the FSA 2012 RDR madness is pursued. Look around you – the industry is falling apart!
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Anonymous | 21 Jun 2010 8:38 pm
No need for you worry Evan the liability you suppose isn't the case for Positive Solutions in any event, with profits recorded in the April and a projected upturn in turnover for the year end, with over £20+m in the bank, no lending, no debt.
The majority of advisers well on the way with regards to the diploma obtained via the award winning Learning Aczdemy, many already achieving Chartered status and workshops for Business Planning post RDR, exclusive leads arrangements with Accountacy and Legal Networks, all is up and up. How many can say that today.
The reported PBR will make sure that going forward PosSol will be a quality company to work for with no 'skeletons in the cupboard', how many will be able to say that I ask? You might even say the future is not just bright but Positive for all at Positive Solutions.
I agree though that the damage the FSA has done to this industry is yet to be realised and to think that the architect (at least one of them) of this damage is to head up the new authority is in itself the first major mistake the combined Government has made and I am still at a loss how Mr Osborne could contemplate having this man in that post for 3 years. It is so unbelieveable that it has to be questioned. You cannot tell me it isn't jobs for the boys.
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Anonymous | 22 Jun 2010 4:58 pm
to the marketing director of positive solutions, sorry anonymous 8.38pm, if you're going to post blatant corporate guff at least do it in your own name
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Anonymous | 23 Jun 2010 5:22 pm
To the Pos Sols person above, much as I dislike Hector Sants statements on "be afraid" and his email to staff before the election, to be fair, it is important to remind people he may have been steering the good ship FSA when it crashed, but the previous pilots (including John Tiner) had already drunk a whole bottle of whiskey, aimed it at the iceburg, set the engines to full ahead, disabled the rudder..... and climbed in to the lifeboat so they could continue the party.
By then it wouldn't have made any difference if the cabin boy had been at the wheel.......
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