| Type | Public limited company (LSE: LGEN) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1836 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | John Stewart, Chairman Tim Breedon, CEO |
| Products | Life, Pensions and Investments |
| Revenue | £38,440 million (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | £1,002 million (2010)[1] |
| Net income | £820 million (2010)[1] |
| Employees | 9,324 (2009) |
| Website | www.legalandgeneralgroup.com |
Legal & General Group Plc (LSE: LGEN), commonly known as Legal & General, is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its products include life insurance, general insurance, pensions and investments.[1] It has operations in the United Kingdom, Egypt, France, Germany, the Gulf, India, the Netherlands and the United States.[1] As at 31 December 2010 it had total funds under management of £354 billion.[1]
It listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
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Legal & General was formed by Sergeant John Adams and five other lawyers in June 1836 in a Chancery Lane coffee shop.[2] Originally called the New Law Life Assurance Society, the society was restricted to those in the legal profession. The name was changed to Legal & General Life Assurance Society to reflect that policies were available to the general public but with share ownership restricted to those in the legal profession.
The group expanded in the UK and soon began to acquire overseas life assurance companies, purchasing a pensions business from the Metropolitan Life Assurance Company of New York in the 1930s.[2]
In 1956 Life business was set up in Australia.
The society became a wholly owned division of Legal & General Group plc in the 1970s.[3]
During the 1980s Legal & General bought Government Employee Life Insurance in the USA and the Dutch branch of Unlike Assurance Group and set up business in France.[3]
The previous Legal & General logo incorporates the image of the Temple Bar (which is still used in the logo of the company's social and athletic committee), and the founding date. The umbrella logo used today was introduced by former Chief Press Officer Gordon Macdonald in June 1984.
During the early 1990s, Legal and General had been sponsoring the Regional Weather Forecasts for the ITV network.
In 1999, Legal & General announced plans to merge its business with that of the National Westminster Bank to form the first 'bancassurance' company in the UK.[4] However, poor market reception to the deal saw the Royal Bank of Scotland bid for the National Westminster, and the merger deal collapsed.
In 2003, Northern Rock bought the Legal & General Bank and Legal & General Mortgage Services.[5]
In 2005 Legal & General sold its stake in Gresham Insurance, its joint venture with Barclays Bank, to Barclays.[6]
In 2008 Legal & General bought Suffolk Life, a provider of Self Invested Pension products.[7]
In 2008, Legal & General outsourced its IT development areas to TCS (Tata Consultancy Services).[8]
In 2009, Legal & General formed a joint venture with two Indian public sector banks, Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank to launch IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company in India.[9]
In October 2010, Legal & General outsourced its remaining IT areas to (IBM).[10]
In March 2011, workers at Legal & General allege overcharging by an IT supplier.[11]
Today the company continues to offer a wide range of products and, in addition to its direct sales service and brokerage agreements with numerous tied agents and independent financial advisers.
Although not often promoted by the company, Legal & General also owns one of the largest estate agency/lettings agency franchise businesses in the UK through its LGFL (Legal & General Franchising Ltd) subsidiary. The businesses are not marketed under the Legal & General brand, but instead operate under a number of regional brands, operating over 110 branches nationwide.
LGFL Franchisees trade under one of four different brand names depending on the area in which they operate. Each brand name has been trading for at least 17 years and in some cases over 150. The brands are:
Since 2005 LGFL has operated under the name Xperience further separating the branding of operation from the main Legal & General brand.[12]
Tim Breedon became CEO on 1 January 2006. For this role he is paid an annual salary of £770,000.[13] Nigel Wilson became CFO in September 2009.
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