Clerical Medical is one of the UK's oldest life assurance companies. It was founded in 1824 primarily to provide investment products to the professional middle classes.

It still focuses on what it terms the "professional market" and sells only through intermediaries, preferring not to get involved in hiring its own sales people.

The company has a number of arms and altogether manages funds of around £15 million in about two million pension, investment and life assurance plans.

In January last year, Clerical Medical was taken over by the Halifax Group as the giant building society sought to expand its investment operations as it prepared to become a bank.

At this time the group converted from being a mutual society to becoming a limited company. An injection of £800 million from Halifax made the group more financially secure.

Clerical Medical International, one of the core subsidiaries, provides offshore products, mostly to UK residents.