Aviva £340m Asia sell-off

INSURANCE giant Aviva has sold Friends Provident International to International Financial Group for £340m.

Aviva announced earlier this year it had seen lower profits from the non-UK arm – 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 Aviva acquired it as part of its £5.6bn takeover of Friends Life Group in April 2015.