Standard Life members poised to approve flotation

Standard Life's members are today expected to approve its planned £5bn summer flotation - a move that will trigger windfall payments averaging £1,700 to 2.4 million people.

The insurer is to announce at a special meeting today that it has secured yes votes from more than 75% of the members who voted. That will allow the Edinburgh-based company to proceed with the biggest stock market flotation in five years.

The directors will go into the meeting at Edinburgh International Conference Centre in relatively buoyant mood after the insurer yesterday announced it made profits from new business of £30m in the first three months of this year - compared with £33m for the whole of 2005.

Sandy Crombie, the chief executive, said the performance reflected the success of its repositioning. "These results demonstrate we are progressing well in building a business for the future," he said.

However, the directors will be hoping for calmer stock market conditions over the coming weeks after the jitters of the past fortnight. If leading Fidelity fund manager Anthony Bolton is right that share price falls are likely to continue for months, that could derail the float or dent the value of the shares members receive.

The insurer will also have been hoping for a last-minute flood of voting forms after it emerged that about 500,000 policyholders had still not got around to confirming their address and policy details. Though there is no minimum requirement, Standard Life's board is keen to win a strong mandate in order to see off any potential legal challenges.

Assuming the plans to abandon 81 years of mutuality are approved, the insurer intends to make its stock market debut in July. The company aims to raise £1.1bn in new capital, giving it a potential market value of up to £5.5bn.

Standard Life's advisers have estimated that the shares are likely to be worth between £2.40 and £2.90 each. However, the average £1,700 windfall figure disguises huge variations. About half the eligible members would receive between £490 and £1,000. Meanwhile, a handful of City institutions and wealthy members would receive six-figure pay-outs.

Roddy Kohn, who runs the independent financial adviser firm Kohn Cougar, has been one of the few dissenting voices. "Standard Life has never been in better shape," he said. "It is leaner, more profitable and ready to exploit its lead in the pensions arena for the benefit of all policyholders."