Friends enjoys profit rise

The life assurance company Friends Provident yesterday reported a strong increase in new business for the first six months of…

The life assurance company Friends Provident yesterday reported a strong increase in new business for the first six months of the year. The company said its annual premium equivalent had soared by 80 per cent to £15.82 million from £8.77 million, significantly higher than some of its competitors. For the period, single premium income rose grew by 224 per cent, Friends Provident said, to £81.92 million from £25.25 million.

"Obviously, we're very happy," said Mr John Murphy, general manager of the company's broker services. "Our investment performance was excellent, we got our product development right, and we invested heavily in client servicing, which is very important in the pension market."

He said the company had also benefited from a restructure, which made it more efficient with a stronger focus on business.

"Pension annual premium equivalent grew by 71 per cent to £10.35 million in the half year," Friends Provident said.

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The company, part of the Eureko Ireland group which has some 570 employees in the Republic and assets of £1.2 billion. It has just begun a finance company, concentrating initially on the leases market, but with immediate plans to introduce its own credit card service, mortgages and deposit banking.

Eureko Ireland is the local division of the Amsterdam-based Eureko group, the 7th largest insurance partnership in Europe. In has a total asset base of £64 billion and more than 33,000 workers in 14 countries.