Aviva has lost its finance director in the middle of an overhaul of the insurer by its chief executive designed to revive its fortunes.
Pat Regan, who joined Aviva in February 2010, is leaving to join Australian rival QBE. Chief executive Mark Wilson, who is in the second year of his revamp of the business, said:
Pat has been a tremendous support in assisting me with Aviva's financial transformation. I am supportive of his decision and he leaves with my best wishes and those of Aviva's board.
Aviva has begun looking for Regan's replacement but the uncertainty has seen its shares slip 1.2p to 476.1p. Analyst Eamonn Flanagan at Shore Capital said:
Regan is the latest in a growing list of exits from Aviva which, to us, is likely to impact operating performance in the coming years. We reiterate our sell recommendation on the stock, struggling to justify the material yield discount (of around 90 basis points) which the shares trade on compared to Legal and General (buy).
Legal & General is currently 1.1p higher at 226.5p.
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