British insurer Royal & SunAlliance continues to be the centre of market speculation as cashed-up European insurers search for easy access to the British market. The latest rumour surrounds Dutch insurance group Aegon, which last week reported record first-half results.

Aegon CEO Kees Storm has refused to confirm or deny that his company is in talks with Royal & SunAlliance management.

While R&SA lagged behind the other British insurance giants on the British stockmarket last year, over the past six months its performance has improved. Its first-half result was 17% higher than last year’s. However, its profit still lags behind those of its larger rival in the market, CGNU. CEO Bob Mendelsohn is still considering whether to unload the company’s life operations.