Aviva has sold its Your Move estate agency and e.surv surveying business to a Barclays Private Equity-backed firm. The deal with Lending Solutions Limited went through for £42m.
Aviva said the aggregate net asset value of Your Move and e.surv was £5m at 31 December 2003, with pretax operating profit at £1m.
Lending Solutions was formed for the purpose of making the acquisition. Aviva said its management team comprises members of the existing Your Move and e.surv management teams, and that it is funded by a combination of private equity and debt financing.
Norwich Union Life and Pensions finance director and the outgoing chairman of Your Move, Jim Newman, said: “Having received a number of expressions of interest, we concluded that these businesses were no longer core to Aviva's strategy and could be more effectively developed under new ownership.
“We wish the management team and employees every success in their new venture.”
Your Move has around 230 branches and 2000 staff in the UK. e.surv, which operates from around 80 offices, employs approximately 600 staff, including 250 chartered surveyors.
