Groupama puts its UK business on the market

The French insurer group Groupama has put its brokerage business and UK operations on the market.

Deutsche Bank has been hired to advise on the sale process for the UK underwriting division and insurance broking businesses, which includes the Manchester-based Bollington, Carole Nash and Lark.

The UK business had received several expressions of interest for some of its more profitable aspects, due to the current difficult trading environment. It is expected that up to £300 million will be achieved in a sale.

François-Xavier Boisseau, the firm’s UK chief executive, told the Insurance Times: “The sale process will start very soon. The group will decide on the quality of the offers.”

“What is very true is that the group appreciates the valued of its UK operation. When we publish the results for 2011, they will show again a very significant increase in profit and demonstrate that the UK is a valuable asset to the group”, he continued.

Groupama was formed from regional farmers’ mutuals over a century ago. One of its largest international businesses is based in Britain. The UK operations focus on property and casualty insurance.

Possible bidders for the underwriting business include the French mutual Covéa and RSA. Advent International is believed to be interested in its broking businesses.

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