Aviva boss promises ‘fun stuff’ ahead with £500m war chest
Insurer Aviva fired up the cash engine on Thursday with a pledge to go on a mini-acquisitions spree.
The group signalled plans to spend £500 million on bolt-on deals in markets like Poland and Turkey or buy small start-ups. Shareholders will be given any money that isn’t spent. About £100 million has already been spent on a deal in Ireland.
Chief executive Mark Wilson said: “We have the very high-quality problem of deploying capital productively. We are now clearly in the growth phase of our business and we are growing faster than, frankly, most would have expected a few years ago. For me, this is where the fun stuff starts.”
It has about £3 billion of spare cash to spend this year and next, and also plans to pay down expensive debt.
Operating profits rose 2% to £3.1 billion but there were problems in Canada where higher claims meant operating profits fell to £46 million from £269 million. The UK, Aviva’s biggest market, saw operating profits soar 13% to £2.2 billion.
Shares fell 2% due to a poorer underwriting performance and woes in Canada.
Aviva exited a string of countries including Spain last year but now says it has finished the pruning job.
