Aviva sells Friends Provident

Aviva announced earlier this year that it had seen lower profits from Friends Provident - which serves high net worth clients in the Middle East and Asia - and was placing it under “strategic review”.

Friends Provident booked a £2m post-tax loss in 2016 and the disposal comes just two years after the UK insurance firm acquired it as part of its £5.6bn takeover of Friends Life Group in April 2015.

Aviva said the sale will allow it to “reallocate capital” to more profitable parts of the business.

Chris Wei, executive chairman of Aviva Asia and Friends Provident, said: “The sale of Friends Provident International Limited is a good outcome for Aviva.

“It allows us to focus on the significant opportunities we have to grow Aviva’s business across Asia through digital and disrupting the traditional insurance industry.”

Friends Provident will continue to serve customers, partners and intermediaries as usual and there is no change to customers’ policies as a result of the sale, Aviva added.