Royal & SunAlliance’s non-general insurance operations in Australia may be broken up to expedite their sale. While CEO Mike Wilkins refuses (wisely) to discuss the matter, reports from London suggest the parent company would welcome a bit more speed in the sales process. A Dow Jones report yesterday said the R&SA life and funds management assets in Australia aren’t selling in one lot, and buyers are pressing for them to be offered separately.

It’s not good business to allow the buyers to cherry-pick assets, so it will be interesting to see how the sale is handled.

R&SA in the UK has already sold its offshore life business to Friends Provident for $194 million. It has also sold its UK asset management business and its Benelux operation as part of a plan to release $970 million of capital to bolster reserves and fund growth in the remaining general insurance business.