Troubled Friends may go up for sale

LIFE insurer Friends Provident could be put up for sale following a wholesale review of the business.

Executive chairman Sir Adrian Montague has been carrying out his strategic review following the failure of an 8.6 billion merger with Resolution last month.

A Sunday newspaper report said the review process was nearing completion, and that Montague and his team had not ruled out putting the entire company up for sale.

Friends Provident, which dates back to 1832, has around 2.5 million life and pensions policyholders, served by some 5,000 staff. Earlier this month the business was forced to suspend withdrawals from its 1.2 billion commercial property fund.