Top financier sets sights on Royal & Sun

A FINANCIER best known for his attempt to buy the British Co-op consumer services group now has insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) in his sights, it was reported yesterday.

Andrew Regan is understood to have identified Britain’s second-biggest insurer - owner of the More Than brand and valued at stg£2.4 billion (€3.5 billion) - at the start of this year, according to weekend reports.

The reports emerged at the end of a week in which shares in the FTSE 100 Index company surged 5% amid speculation that an unnamed “high-profile UK entrepreneur” was working on a bid. More than 80 million shares changed hands on Friday.