Fears for Prudential name

THE insurance brand made famous by the ‘man from the Pru’ is facing an uncertain future.

As Prudential’s UK arm is being spun off, there are fears its name – long associated with British pensions and insurance – could be put out to pasture.

The insurer has announced it is changing its name on the stock market to m&G. It will be worth around £7bn, according to estimates from analysts at Citibank.

Despite concerns, it is expected to carry on using the Prudential brand for many services. The company insisted that customers who have insurance or a pension with Prudential UK will not see any changes.

However, it suggests a diminished future for the ‘man from the Pru’, as the firm’s army of door-to-door financial advisers were known for decades.

The m&G name is already used by Prudential for its asset management arm.

John Foley, chief executive of m&G, said: ‘We are in the fortunate position of having two strong brands, each with a rich heritage. We need a single corporate name we can use globally. so to distinguish ourselves in the global market, we have decided to list our shares on the London stock Exchange as m&G plc.’

The current Prudential group is splitting off its fast-growing Asian and Us operations from its British-focused arm.

The separation began in march last year and is expected to complete in the final three months of this year.

Prudential announced profits of £1.5bn for the first half of 2019, up 7pc on a year earlier.