It might have been the week of Christmas but that did not stop two household names in insurance, both with major Scottish connections, unveiling a blockbuster deal.

Last Monday, having frequently been in the headlines on the takeover front over 2024, Direct Line’s board agreed to be acquired by UK rival Aviva in a £3.7 billion deal.

City analysts appear to consider it a good deal for Aviva.

And Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown, hailed it as “Christmas come early” for Direct Line investors when the deal was unveiled last Monday.

The business now called Aviva was formed with the merger of CGU and Norwich Union in May 2000. This deal created CGNU, which was renamed Aviva in 2002. CGU had been formed by the merger of Perth-based General Accident with Commercial Union in February 1998.

Aviva still employs about 1,100 staff in Perth, as well as around 1,000 people at Maxim Park near Glasgow.

Direct Line was founded by Sir Peter Wood in 1985. The business, which now also includes Churchill and Green Flag, was under Royal Bank of Scotland’s ownership for many years before being spun out of the institution in 2012.

A quip from Sir Peter highlighting the value he created for Royal Bank of Scotland – made back in 2002 when he was announcing 300 more jobs in Glasgow for the esure business he was at that time........

© Herald Scotland