Groupama to sell UK business The company has appointed Deutsche Bank to advise on the sale, which will include both its UK underwriting division and insurance broking businesses such as Manchester-based Bollington. Groupama has been hit heavily by the eurozone debt crisis and replaced its chief executive Jean Azema in October following a series of poor results. Mr Azema, who was replaced by Thierry Martle, was blamed for the company having its credit rating downgraded last year. François-Xavier Boisseau, the company's UK chief executive, said a cheap sale was "out of the question." Mr Boisseau told Insurance Times: "The sale process will start very soon. The group will decide on the quality of the offers. What is very true is that the group appreciates the value of its UK operation. When we publish the results for 2011, they will show again a very significant increase in profit and demonstrate that the UK is a valuable asset to the group. For the group, it is out of the question to undersell its UK assets. Potential bidders for Groupama's underwriting business include French mutal Covéa and RSA. Advent International is thought to be keen on buying its broking businesses, which also include Carole Nash and Lark.