Editing Prudential plc (section)

===20th century===
[[File:Prudential Assurance Building 1, Holborn, London - Diliff.jpg|thumb|right|Holborn Bars—Traditional home of Prudential]]
The company was first listed on the [[London Stock Exchange]] in 1924.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timeline |url=https://www.prudentialplc.com/en/about-us/our-history/timeline |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=www.prudentialplc.com |language=en}}</ref>

In the mid-1980s, financial deregulation allowed financial institutions to own estate agencies, and Prudential decided to follow early market entrants such as [[Provident Financial|Provident Financial Group plc]] (Whitegates) and [[Lloyds Bank]] (Black Horse Agencies),<ref name="Cases">{{cite book |editor1-last=Ennew |editor1-first=Christine |title=Cases in Marketing Financial Services |date=1993 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Marketing |location=Oxford |isbn=0750606614 |pages=196–200}}</ref> in summer 1985 by purchasing a long-established and successful Huntingdon-based firm of estate agents, Ekins, Dilley and Handley, for £12 million.<ref name="Dennett">{{cite book |last1=Dennett |first1=Laurie |title=A Sense of Security: 150 Years of Prudential |date=1998 |publisher=Granta Editions |location=Cambridge |isbn=185757060X |page=363}}</ref> This was originally intended as an experiment allowing the company a new route to market for mortgage-linked endowment policies; however after many other financial institutions followed suit, Prudential rapidly started to embark on an acquisition trail which would quickly see it become market leader in terms of number of offices.<ref name="Independent1">{{cite news |last1=Thomson |first1=Richard |title=The lenders fold their cards: Richard Thomson looks into the story behind Abbey National's sale of its disastrous estate agency venture |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/the-lenders-fold-their-cards-richard-thomson-looks-into-the-story-behind-abbey-nationals-sale-of-its-1462787.html|work=The Independent|access-date=27 March 2020 |date=22 August 1993}}</ref><ref name="Cases"/> Acquisitions included [[Chestertons|Chestertons Residential]] and Earl & Lawrence in August 1986,<ref name="Times8886">{{cite news |last1=Eadie |first1=Alison |title=Prudential buys two estate agencies |work=The Times |date=8 August 1986 |url=https://archive.org/stream/NewsUK1986UKEnglish/Aug%2008%201986%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2362530%2C%20UK%20%28en%29_djvu.txt |access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref> Edward Bailey & Son in January 1987, The Channel Island Estate Agency Property Shop in February 1987, and Rogers & Clark in May 1987.<ref name="Mergers87">{{cite book |last1=George |first1=K D |title=Mergers and Acquisitions Year Book |date=1988 |publisher=Macmillan Publishers |location=Basingstoke |isbn=978-1-349-10005-7 |pages=68, 116, 402}}</ref> This was however done at great cost. Although a typical cost of establishing a new estate agency branch was around £75,000–£100,000, Prudential paid a total of £125 million for 337 of its branches: an average cost per branch of £371,000.<ref name="WinnersLosers">{{cite book |last1=Hamnett |first1=Chris |title=Winners And Losers: Home Ownership in Modern Britain |date=1998 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon |isbn=978-1857283341 |pages=42–44}}</ref>

In 1986, Prudential acquired the American insurer [[Jackson National Life]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/19/business/company-news-prudential-plc-to-buy-jackson.html|title=Prudential P.L.C. To Buy Jackson|date=19 September 1986|work=The New York Times|access-date=9 April 2017}}</ref> In the same year, amongst many other acquisitions, Prudential Property Services acquired the fifty-two strong chain of [[LSL Property Services|Reeds Rains]] for £24 million.<ref name="Lawson1">Lawson, David (1999). Swiss Financial Giant Backs UK Residential Agents. Property Week, April 1999.</ref>

The collapse of the housing market in the south of England in 1989 brought about a slump in income at Prudential Property Services, which during the first half of 1990 lost £23 million. Prudential had been closing branches, with 100 closing between December 1988 and May 1990. After these losses were announced, another 175 branches closed in July 1990. In May 1991 Prudential sold the remainder of the chain for a total of £13.5 million, representing a 90% loss on the cost of acquisition. Some branches were purchased by their original owners for fractions of the price they had received from the Prudential just a few years earlier.<ref name="WinnersLosers" /> For example, the Prudential Property Services office in Hanwell was originally an independent agency, purchased by Prudential for £200,000: it was subsequently sold off to Rolfe East Estate Agents for £1.<ref name="Independent2" /> The western division of Prudential Property Services was sold to [[Scottish Widows]] to join their [[Connells Group|Connells Estate Agents]] chain. The northern division<ref name="Independent2">{{cite web |last1=Willcock |first1=John |title=Abbey National sells estate agents for 8m pounds: Two entrepreneurs buy Cornerstone chain after bank's losses since 1987 mount to at least pounds 243m |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/abbey-national-sells-estate-agents-for-8m-pounds-two-entrepreneurs-buy-cornerstone-chain-after-banks-1461674.html|work=The Independent|access-date=27 February 2020 |date=17 August 1993}}</ref> was sold in a £3.4 million management buyout reverting to the name, Reeds Rains,<ref name="Lawson1" /> the south east division was sold to become Arun Estates,<ref name="Independent2" /> and Chestertons and another region were sold to the [[The Woolwich|Woolwich Property Services]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Woolwich Property Services Limited |title=Accounts to 31 December 1991 |date=1992}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Backe-Hansen |first1=Melanie |title=The History of Chestertons |date=2018 |publisher=Chestertons Global Limited}}</ref>

In 1997, Prudential acquired Scottish Amicable, a business founded in 1826 in [[Glasgow]] as the West of Scotland Life Insurance Company, for £1.75 bn.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/26/business/prudential-of-britain-in-deal-to-buy-scottish-life-insurer.html Pru of Britain in Deal to buy Scottish Life Insurancer]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', 26 March 1997.</ref>

In 1998, Prudential set up [[Egg Banking|Egg]], an [[Online banking|internet bank]] in the UK. The subsidiary reached 550,000 customers within nine months, but had difficulty achieving profitability.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/406903.stm Egg cracks internet for Pru] BBC News, 1999</ref> In June 2000, an [[initial public offering]] of 21% was made to allow for further growth of the internet business, but in February 2006 Prudential decided to repurchase the 21% share of Egg.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4487456.stm Prudential to swallow the Egg whole]. [[BBC News]], 2005.</ref> Egg was subsequently sold to Citibank in January 2007.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6309731.stm Pru sells Egg to Citigroup]. [[BBC News]], 2007.</ref> In 1999, [[M&G]], a UK [[investment management|fund management]] company, was acquired.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/294759.stm Pru pounces on investment rival] BBC News, 1999</ref> In June 2000, the company was first listed on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] to help focus on the US market.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/790649.stm Prudential goes to New York] BBC News, 2000</ref>