Countrywide is to sell or demerge its insurance business in order to create a specialist estate agency and property services business.
Chairman Christopher Sporborg said: “Demerger or sale of the life business will help unlock the underlying value of the two companies for shareholders and create more understandable investment propositions.
“Since we entered into the distribution agreement with Friends Provident last year, there has been little logic in the Life business being part of the same group as the
residential estate agency and professional property services business.”
He said that, if the insurance business was sold, the proceeds would be returned to shareholders.
The group also released a trading statement, saying the housing market had recovered since Countrywide released its half-year results in August with a “significant increase in average transaction fees”.
However, a lack of first-time buyers meant “chain” deals were slow to complete, it said.
References: EGi News 05/12/03
