Ireland to be the `key focus' for Irish Life and head)

Since Mr David Went took over as Irish Life managing director last April, the company's management team appears to have put a lot of thought into mapping out the future and it has come to a few fresh conclusions.

At its full-year results briefing last March, the company said it was seeking further expansion opportunities in eastern Europe and Britain as well as at home. But under Mr Went, the management team appears to have narrowed its focus.

Irish Life now says it has no ambition to develop a major European presence nor is it in the market for further US acquisitions. Instead it intends to concentrate on its existing US operations areas but especially on Ireland.

"Ireland is going to be the key focus for us over the short to medium term. In Ireland we see opportunities for us to add most value for our shareholders," Mr Went says.

Improving its distribution network and protecting its market position are the two key challenges Irish Life faces in the domestic market.

The company is particularly keen to develop its branch-based distribution as just 8 per cent of its product is sold through branch-based systems at present compared to 25 per cent for the market as a whole.

"If the opportunity arose to own or control distribution we would be very interested in it," Mr Went says.

He declined to say which financial institutions Irish Life would be interested in bidding for although he admits that ICC would not be top of the list. "Irish Life is very much focused on the personal sector and for Irish Life ICC would not be of that much strategic interest," Mr Went said.

However, while Irish Life wants to be ready if a bidding opportunity arises, it is not going to waste its time sitting around waiting for something to come up.

"You can't wait around because the bus may never come," says Mr Went.

Instead, the company plans to continue developing relationships such as those built with Ulster Bank, Irish Nationwide, TSB and Dunnes Stores in recent months. Irish Life is also keen on developing distribution to affinity groups such as trade union members as this method is now the fastest-growing means of selling life and investment products in the US.