Aviva starts £600m share buy-back

Aviva on Tuesday said it would start a £600m share buy-back as it plans to spend £2bn of excess capital.

Along with the buy-back, Aviva said it planned to cut debt by £900m and spend £500m on bolt-on acquisitions.

“The dividend yield on Aviva shares currently stands at 5.2%, and with the dividend expected to grow further, the board believes a buy-back is a compelling use of Aviva's excess capital,” the company said.

Aviva said it Citigroup would conduct the share buy-back programme on its behalf. The programme will end no later than 31 December 2018.