Esure sale talk triggers rise in rival insurer share prices

Shares in UK insurers Admiral, Direct Line Group and RSA all rose yesterday following talk that Esure founder and chairman Sir Peter Wood had been discussing selling his stake in the personal lines insurer.

Esure’s own shares jumped 6.1% to 278.5p in yesterday’s trading compared with Friday’s closing price of 262.6p.

The jump followed a report in the Sunday Times saying Wood had approached rival insurance bosses about a possible sale of his 30.7% stake in London-listed Esure.

Admiral’s share price rose 2.2% to 1,824p, RSA’s share price increased 1.6% to 630.5p and Direct Line Group’s share price rose 0.7% to 374p.

Esure declined to comment on the speculation yesterday.

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