LONDON, April 6, 2026, 20:13 BST
- London trading was shut for Easter Monday, leaving Aviva last quoted at 621.4 pence from April 2. 1
- Aviva has issued no new regulatory statement since an April 2 notice covering a buyback trade executed on April 1. 2
- The insurer’s next scheduled markers are its May 6 AGM and a May 14 first-quarter update, when the 26.2 pence final dividend is also due to be paid. 3
Aviva plc shares were still quoted at 621.4 pence on Monday, unchanged from April 2, as the London Stock Exchange shut for Easter Monday and the insurer posted no fresh market statement over the holiday break. Aviva’s regulatory feed still showed the April 2 buyback notice as its latest company announcement. 1
The pause matters because Aviva is now between a strong March results package and a tighter run of May events. Investors are heading toward the annual meeting on May 6, then a first-quarter trading update and payment of the 26.2 pence final dividend on May 14. 3
With no new statement since then, the buyback remains the latest capital-markets message from management. Aviva said in March it was resuming a 350 million pound share repurchase after reporting a 25% rise in annual operating profit. 4
In the latest filing, Aviva said it bought 2,069,330 shares on April 1 for cancellation at a volume-weighted average price of 615.49 pence, or the average price paid across that day’s trading volumes. A March 31 voting-rights filing showed 6.72 million shares had already been bought under the programme before that transaction. 5
That buyback followed a year of stronger earnings. Aviva said 2025 operating profit rose to 2.203 billion pounds from 1.767 billion pounds, while general insurance premiums climbed 18% to 14.1 billion and wealth net inflows increased 6% to 10.9 billion; Reuters said the outcome was broadly in line with analyst expectations. 6
Chief executive Amanda Blanc said at the time Aviva was “highly committed to growing our dividend”. The group lifted the total dividend 10% to 39.3 pence and said the final 26.2 pence payment would go out on May 14. 6
Blanc had already told investors in November that Aviva was “ready for the next chapter” after the Direct Line takeover, as the insurer set targets for earnings per share growth of 11% a year through 2028 and higher cost savings from the integration. The May trading statement is the next public readout on whether the group is still tracking to those goals. 7
Still, there are risks. Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, wrote after the results that “2026 will be tougher,” though he said “momentum looks good,” pointing to a harder pricing backdrop in UK and Ireland general insurance and a lower Solvency II ratio, a regulatory capital measure, of 180% versus 203% a year earlier. 8
Competitive context sits mostly in the Direct Line tie-up. Aviva agreed the 3.7 billion pound takeover of its smaller rival in December 2024, a deal Reuters said would create Britain’s largest home and motor insurer, and the company said Direct Line contributed 174 million pounds to 2025 operating profit. 9
When London trading resumes, investors will be working off a thin file: the last quoted share price, the latest buyback notices and the May dates on the calendar. For Aviva, that keeps the focus on capital returns and on whether March’s stronger numbers can hold through the next update. 1
