Insurance giant Aviva today said it had agreed to sell its Australian life and wealth management businesses in a deal worth around £450 million.

The agreement with National Australia Bank comes after Aviva decided it was unlikely to secure a leading position in Australia in the foreseeable future.

Aviva currently ranks ninth in the Australian life market while its wealth management platform is placed eighth.

Chief executive Andrew Moss said the sale was in line with Aviva's strategy of focusing on key markets in Asia where leading positions can be achieved, such as China and India.

He added: "It gives us greater financial flexibility and we can redeploy the capital to other markets which we believe will deliver better returns to our shareholders over the next few years."

The expected proceeds of 925 million Australia dollars (£452 million) will enhance the group's capital surplus by around £400 million.

It is thought that NAB, which owns the Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks in the UK, fought off competition from Australian insurer AMP to secure the deal.

Aviva is the world's fifth largest insurance group, with 50 million customers across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.