Update: Resolution shares tumble after group scraps £250m payout

Shares in Resolution Limited are selling off sharply this afternoon after it scrapped a planned £250m payment to shareholders amid a warning over its capital position.

The company, set up Clive Cowdery, said in a brief statement that it would be 'inappropriate' to make the £250m capital return originally targeted for the first half of 2012, and said it had opted to cancel it instead. The group, which made full year profits of £681m in 2011 and raised its dividend 10%, said it had opted to cancel the planned £250m payment because of uncertainty surrounding the investment and regulatory environment, after hinting it may need more money to support Friends Life. It said: "This decision is based on the estimated capital position of the group as at the en...