Sun Life & Provincial Holdings


Sun Life & Provincial Holdings plc was a large British insurance company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by French insurance company Axa Group in 1996.

History

The company was established in 1995 as a holding company for the Sun Life Assurance Society and the Provincial Insurance Company in both of which Union des Assurances de Paris of France had acquired substantial holdings.

Sun Life Assurance Society

The Sun Life Assurance Society was a life insurance offshoot, founded in 1810, of the Sun Fire Office. The Head Office moved to Bristol in 1976. UAP acquired 50% of the Sun Life Assurance Society in 1992.

Provincial Insurance Company

The Provincial Insurance Company was founded by Francis Clayton Scott in Kendal in 1903. UAP acquired the Provincial Insurance Company for £300m in 1994.

Axa increases its shareholding

In 1997 Axa, who had acquired UAP in 1996, transferred its Equity & Law business into the company thereby increasing its holding in the company from 60% to 72%. Then in May 2000 Axa acquired all shares it did not already own in the Company.