Friends Provident IT to support Tesco Personal Finance

Insurer will use its IT to enable provision of insurance products to Tesco's financial services arm

Matthews: "We are very much back in business"

Friends Provident will use its IT to support the setting up of Tesco’s financial services offering, the firm said in its financial results today.

The insurer will provide protection products for Tesco Personal Finance in a move to extend its market foothold and will use its IT expertise to underpin the partnership.

“This deal will significantly extend the reach of our protection distribution, and we are looking forward to applying our technology capabilities in partnership with one of the UK's best-known brands,” Friends Provident said in a statement.

Friends chief executive Trevor Matthews described the Tesco link as as a " very exciting development".

Sales of the firm's life and pensions products slumped by 40 per cent during the three months to 31 March, to £108.9m compared to £176.6m in the year-ago quarter.

During the first three months of 2009 sales of individual cover also suffered – the insurer reported a dip in sales to £9.1m from £9.9m in the previous quarter. The slowdown in the housing market was cited as a major cause of the decline.