Resolution to return £500m 'excess cash' to shareholders

Buyout vehicle Resolution expects to have £500m of excess cash to return to shareholders over the next 12 months after completing its review of new proposition Friends Life.

Resolution has revealed the payout after examining the cash and capital position of Friends Life, the group it formed from the merger of Friends Provident and Axa's UK life and pensions business. The cash falls into two components: excess cash currently held at the Guernsey top company, which is being returned immediately by way of a £250m share buyback; and surplus cash expected to be released from Friends Life group by the end of the year as a result of the implementation of £235m worth of capital synergies. Resolution's policy is to return excess cash released from its 'UK ...