JLT Australia and New Zealand will continue to operate its Thistle underwriting arm following the sale of most of the Thistle UK operation.

CEO Leo Demer says the sale will have no effect on the Australian Thistle operation, in which the local company will continue to invest.

“Thistle is a core business for us and has enormous growth potential,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

London-based JLT will sell the majority of its Thistle UK business to PIB Group, with the deal to be completed by the end of the year.

Thistle’s online, affinity scheme and SME businesses, plus its managing general agent underwriting arm, will be sold, while JLT Specialty will take over the London market risks and education and housing businesses.

JLT Specialty Chairman Adrian Girling says the sale will “sharpen our focus on delivering innovative solutions for clients in our respective segments of the market”.

“JLT’s strategy remains [focused] on deepening our activities around our specialist areas of expertise, delivering solutions to clients with the most complex needs – a strategy that differentiates us from our competitors.”

The divested operations had revenue of about £23 million ($37 million) last year, and the deal is not expected to have a material impact on JLT group results.