Aviva ends £7.5bn non-core selling spree with £2.3bn Polish disposal

Aviva has ended its huge sell-off of non-core parts of the business by selling its Polish division for 2.7 billion euros (£2.3 billion), the company announced.

The deal, which will see rival insurer Allianz take over the division, is the eighth overseas unit sold by the UK-based insurer in as many months – raising a total of £7.5 billion.

Aviva is undergoing a major overhaul by slimming down its operations to focus purely on its core markets of the UK, Ireland and Canada, where bosses see strong potential growth.

Selling off its Polish business to rival Allianz will allow the firm to focus on that growth with the spare cash raised handed back to shareholders, bosses said.

Chief executive Amanda Blanc said: “The sale of our Polish business is an excellent conclusion to the refocusing of our portfolio announced just eight months ago.

“The sale of our eight non-core businesses will generate total cash proceeds of £7.5 billion.

“We have made significant progress with our debt reduction plan and in due course we will make a substantial return of capital to shareholders.

“Our strategic focus is now on our strongest businesses in the UK, Ireland and Canada where we have leading market positions and strong growth potential.”

The deal is expected to complete within 12 months for the Polish division which saw profits after tax of £130 million in 2020. Gross assets were £3.9 billion.

The unit is comprised of life insurance businesses in Poland and Lithuania, alongside general insurance, asset management and pensions businesses in Poland.

The previous seven sales announced are:

– Singapore – September 2020;
– Hong Kong – December 2020 (completed – first announced November 2019);
– Aviva Vita – November 2020;
– Vietnam – December 2020;
– France – February 2021;
– Turkey – February 2021;
– Italy – March 2021.