Aviva pledges to return €4.7bn to shareholders but activist wants more

Aviva has raised £7.5bn from selling eight businesses across the globe since the appointment of Amanda Blanc as chief executive in July 2020.

Insurer Aviva has pledged to return at least £4bn (€4.7bn) to shareholders, sending its shares surging, but activist investor Cevian Capital has demanded more.

Cevian, which revealed in June it had built up a near 5% stake in the Ftse-100 company, promptly reiterated that Aviva should return £5bn of excess capital by the end of 2022.