Links boost L&G sales

Legal & General&#39s new business leapt by 27 per cent in 2001

following strong UK fourth-quarter sales through its tie-ups with

Alliance & Leicester and Barclays.

New business reached £801m on an equivalent prem-ium income

basis from £630m in 2000, with UK business rising by 32 per cent

to £710m from £536m after ales in the three months to

December shot up to £194m from £137m.

Individual life and pension sales were up by 24 per cent to

£457m EPI from £369m, while group sales shot up 74 per cent

to £127m from £73m.

Stakeholder pension sales hit £115m and account for the bulk of

individual pensions business, which rocketed by 60 per cent to

£123m from £77m.

The company says over 43,000 employers have signed up with Legal

& General as their stakeholder provider.

It says this places it in a strong position to achieve its target

market share for stakeholder of 10 per cent.

Group chief executive David Prosser attributes the growth in the UK

to L&G&#39s decision to sell stakeholder and life products through

Barclays and Isas and with-profits bonds through A&L midway

through last year.

He says: “2001 has been a year of real progress for L&G with

record new business volumes both for the year and for the fourth

quarter. Support from our strategic partners helped UK individual new

business grow by almost 50 per cent in the three months to December.

“With our high-quality brand and our extensive experience in

multi-channel distribution, we believe we are well positioned to

succeed in the new environment arising from the changes to

polarisation.”