Centrepoint sees future in financial planning

Centrepoint Alliance, a niche provider of insurance premium funding, will change its focus and make financial planning its primary business under plans announced on Friday to merge with Professional Investment Holdings, an unlisted financial planning group.

PIS and Centrepoint have both produced sub-standard returns to shareholders over the course of the financial crisis. The latter's premium funding business has declined since ceasing to be a preferred supplier to broker OAMPS, and its receivables at December 2009 were less than $100 million.

Centrepoint, which raised some capital in anticipation of an acquisition, proposed a merger to PIH that will see shareholders in the latter own 80 per cent of the merged company.

National Australia Bank was looking into buying PIH late last year, but those plans faded as NAB turned its focus toward securing its bid for Axa Asia Pacific.