Aviva rise on €560m plan

UK insurer Aviva, which has substantial operations in Ireland, is considering acquisitions in Poland and Turkey, its chief executive said, as it reported a 2% rise in operating profit and said it planned to return £500m (€560m) to shareholders. The shares rose 0.5% after paring losses, writes Carolyn Cohn and Eamon Quinn.

European insurers such as Allianz and Munich Re have been offering share buybacks as they struggle to find other ways to deploy capital. Aviva, which provides general and life insurance and also operates in other countries including Canada and France, said it also planned to spend around £600m on “bolt-on” acquisitions and £900m on debt reduction. Chief executive Mark Wilson said the firm was looking for purchases in “Poland, Turkey, anywhere we have existing markets”.