Struggling Aviva selling Singapore arm for £1.6bn

Struggling Aviva selling Singapore arm for £1.6bn as new boss Amanda Blanc fights to turn company around

Struggling Aviva is selling its Singapore arm for £1.6billion as new boss Amanda Blanc fights to turn the company around. 

The insurance group will be bought by a consortium led by Singapore Life, with private equity firm TPG becoming its largest shareholder. 

Blanc, 53, is trying to refocus Aviva on more profitable divisions such as Britain, Ireland and Canada since she took over in July. 

Sell-off: The insurance group will be bought by a consortium led by Singapore Life

She said: ‘The sale of Aviva Singapore is a significant first step in our new strategy to bring greater focus to Aviva’s portfolio.’ 

The sale of the Singapore business was abandoned by her predecessor Maurice Tulloch amid speculation that he could not secure a good enough price for it. 

Analysts predict that Aviva will follow this up with the sale of other businesses in Turkey, China, Italy and Poland. 

Barrie Cornes, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, said: ‘Full marks to Amanda Blanc, this is a good deal. 

‘We think her strategy is to move at pace and we think the likes of Europe and Asia will be disposed of. So this is very much a first step to concentrate the business into its much more profitable areas.’