Three years ago

St Valentine's Day brought some good news for the broking fraternity in 2002 when French insurer Groupama Insurances announced that it was taking its UK operation off the market. After failing to find a buyer during the six-month sales period, the French insurer, in an eye-catching U-turn, promised to support the UK arm until at least 2007.

Groupama UK was last week taken off the market by its French parent, following the failure to find a buyer willing to pay what the company believed it was worth.

Two of Groupama's management team, Tony Lancaster, chief executive officer, and Stephen Hartigan, managing director of commercial lines, have both left the company. Mr Lancaster had been due to retire in October.

Jean Paul Bouquin, from Groupama in France, has been made interim chief executive of the UK operation and Tim Ablett, managing director of personal lines, has been promoted to managing director for both personal and commercial lines in the UK.

The insurer has already started the search for a new chief executive and hopes to be able to make an appointment in the next few weeks. The French parent, which started the sale process last July (PM, 19 July 2001, p4), said that it now planned to back the UK operation for "at least five years".

Jamie Marchant, communications manager at Groupama, said since the original sale was announced in July, the market conditions had changed and were now more favourable. "It is now up to us to justify this commitment," he said, adding that in his experience, Groupama had not been known to sell a successful operation.

Mike Williams, chief executive of the British Insurance Brokers' Association, said that he believed brokers would welcome the move. "Five years' backing is as much as anyone could hope for in this market," he commented.

The decision to halt the sale of both the ongoing and run-off businesses also means that the process of transferring the portfolio in readiness for a sale has been halted.