Divestment plans come to a close after Phoenix put SunLife — which it has owned since 2016 — on the market back in June.

Phoenix ditches plan to sell SunLife business - The retirement and insurance firm said it had decided to halt the sale ‘given the current uncertainty in the protection market’.

British insurer Phoenix Group has stopped the sale process of its SunLife business, it said on Monday, citing regulatory scrutiny into what is known as the pure protection insurance market, sending its shares lower.

Sunlife is a major provider of financial protection products, including life insurance, directly to Britons aged over 50.

Phoenix said the move would not have maximised value for shareholders in the current market, adding that SunLife was a 'valuable asset which contributes to the group’s new business growth'

Pensions, savings and life insurance provider Phoenix reported a 15% increase in adjusted operating profits in the first half and reiterated its medium-term targets for earnings and cash generation.

Insurance firm Phoenix Group has scrapped the sale of its SunLife business, which sells equity release products, due to “current uncertainty in the

Phoenix Group said today (16 September) that the planned sale of its SunLife business is to be discontinued “given the current uncertainty in the protection market”.

Long-term savings and pensions group Phoenix has dropped plans to sell its SunLife over-50s financial services business. The FTSE 100 insurer, which owns the Standard Life brand, said the decision was because of current uncertainty in the protection market.

Phoenix Group has decided to “discontinue the sale process” for SunLife, pointing to uncertainty in the protection market.