AMP gets the nod for UK spin-off

AMP's bosses hope the worst is over

Australia's AMP has won shareholder approval for a plan to spin off its struggling UK insurance operations.

Over 97% of shareholders voted in favour of the scheme, which has now cleared its final hurdle.

AMP shocked the market in May when it unveiled plans to split into two firms, fencing off its British unit, HHG.

HHG, which comprises insurers Pearl, NPI and London Life, a fund manager, and a financial-planning firm, has been hit by weak stock markets.

The firm is officially valued by AMP at £1.3bn, but analysts have speculated that its shares may trade much lower than expected when they are listed.

Fresh start

HHG is due to be listed on the London Stock Exchange later this month, with a reborn AMP listed simultaneously in Sydney.

AMP chairman Peter Willcox admitted that there was the potential for "HHG to be undervalued by the market in its early days".

This, in turn, will force AMP into a bigger-than-expected write down of its UK holdings, the latest in a series of blows from its disastrous investments in Britain.

In Australia, meanwhile, the company has been the subject of persistent rumours of a takeover, probably by National Australia Bank (NAB).

NAB bought a strategic stake in AMP in August, but has gone quiet on a possible deal since then.