Royal London thrives as it nears Co-op deal

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Mike Yardley, who steps down as chief executive in October, said he hoped to have news of his bid to acquire Co-operative Financial Services life and pension business "in the near future".

The Co-op has some £20 billion under management compared with Royal London's £44 billion. Earlier this year Royal London took over troubled rival Royal Liver, which had some £3.1 billion of assets.

Total new business in the first half rose by 11% to £1.79 billion but different areas of the business fared better than others. Royal London 360˚, which services offshore investors, saw a 37% boost to sales while Scottish Life sales rose 10%. But Bright Grey and Scottish Provident, which provide protection insurance such as critical illness policies, together saw a 17% fall in sales.

Yardley said: "The group has also achieved strong overall new business growth in challenging markets, with Scottish Life and Royal London 360° continuing to perform very well.

"Markets may well continue to be volatile, but our strong capital position will help ensure that Royal London continues to deliver good performance."

On the smoothed-profits basis favoured by the insurance industry Royal London's European Embedded Value operating profit for the six months rose by 11% to £111 million.