First Active's management must have breathed a sigh of relief when they read the papers on Tuesday.

Last month, it sold its 40 per cent stake in Britannic Money to joint shareholder Britannic Assurance for a tidy €108.7 million.

The move completed the group's exit from the UK market, which began in 2000 when it sold 60 per cent of British business First Active Financial to Britannic.

Less than a month later the Birmingham-based group has issued a profits and dividend warning, and advised that some bonus payments might be deferred. The firm's shares have fallen by half as a consequence.

What must have been of particular interest to First Active was the admission by Britannic that it was likely to be forced to write down the carrying value of its asset management division and also Britannic Money.

What must particularly please First Active is that, not only did it sell its ordinary and preference shares, it also got a debenture in exchange for its rights to future preference share dividends for this year and next year.

Not bad for a deal that at the time was only described as satisfactory.