Insurance broker woos bids for £150m sale

The Oxfordshire-based broker A-Plan Insurance is believed to be courting a raft of private equity bidders with an auction for the company expected to fetch its owners in excess of £150m.

It currently operates more than 50 branches, primarily across the south of England with a small number in the Midlands.

Carl Shuker, deputy chief executive at the group, told The Independent on Sunday: "We've received a lot of approaches but I am not prepared to comment further on any speculation."

An information memorandum is thought to have been distributed in the past few weeks.

One private equity firm, which declined to be named, said: "We took a look at A-Plan because it's a company with a decent pedigree. It wasn't for us but I'm sure there'll be a lot of parties looking to bid for it."

A-Plan brokers across a range of products, from car and home policies to life cover. It has been marketing heavily to Britain's growing Polish community.

A-plan hit the headlines last year when it was revealed as the insurer of 94-year-old Muriel Gladwin, touted as Britain's safest driver for the past 25 years.