Fund Managers Paid To Stay

The fund management arm of the Glasgow-based company is expected to be sold, either seperately or wholesale if the Britannic is taken over. The company has appointed Merrill Lynch to examine its options as it believes it is too small to survive on its own.

Britannic Asset Management has almost £18bn under management and is the jewel in the group crown. The asset management business is thought to be worth anything from £250m - £400m.

The whole group could go for as much as £1.6bn and interested parties are thought to include GE Capital, Royal Bank of Canada and Dutch financial services group Aegon.