Q3 2000 New Business Results

Legal & General Group PLC
19 October 2000
                                                 
                           
                           
                    Legal & General Group Plc
          New business - nine months to 30 September 2000
                            
                            
    A record £12bn placed with the Group for savings and protection

                                      
New life and pensions                   Nine months to 30.9.00 (Note 2)
 business EPI (Note 1)         

    Worldwide                                    £401m  + 8%
    International                                £71m   +20%
    UK individual                                £280m  +12%
Total EPI including unit trusts/ISAs (Note 1)    £473m  + 2%
                                     
New fund management business                     £9.6bn + 5%
Worldwide funds under management                 £112bn +22% (Note 3)

                                 
Note 1: EPI - equivalent premium income, which comprises new annual
        premiums + 10% of single premiums.
Note 2: The percentage shown is the growth over the equivalent period
        in 1999.
Note 3: Growth from 30/9/99.


Group Chief Executive, David Prosser, said: 'Legal & General continues
to see good new business growth in a more difficult market.  The UK is
currently experiencing a pause in the growth pattern of recent years.  
However, against this background, with new individual life and pensions
business growing by 12%, we continue to build market share.

'A record figure has been achieved by our fund management business with
£9.6bn of new funds placed by institutional investors.  The market's
increasing recognition of the wisdom of a core and satellite investment 
strategy will bring further successes for our market leading fund
management business.

'In the pre Stakeholder pensions market, I am particularly pleased to
report that our group personal pension business has grown by 25% in the
first nine months of the year.  The affinity group schemes, which we
have been awarded in the last three months, cover a potential membership
of over 1.5 million.  They underline our determination to capture a
significant share of the Stakeholder pensions market.'




UK Business
===========

Individual life and pensions
----------------------------
In the third quarter, Legal & General achieved growth in new EPI of 12%
over the same period last year.  New business for the first nine months
also increased by 12% to £280m EPI (30.9.99: £251m).  This continued
growth, building on record results in 1999, reflects the resilience of
Legal & General's strategy in a highly competitive marketplace.  It
also benefits from the continuing roll-out of business to consumer
internet applications which now cover term assurance, pensions,
with-profits bonds, ISAs and mortgage loans.

Pensions
--------
Legal & General is developing the products and systems to take full
advantage of the launch of Stakeholder pensions in April 2001.  We have
benefited from our prominent position in the group personal pensions
market, where strong new business growth has been a major contributor
to the 29% EPI growth achieved in the third quarter of 2000.  Over the
first nine months of 2000, total pensions new business has increased
16% to £128m (30.9.99: £110m).  Sales of annuity business in the first
nine months of 2000 have grown by 47% to £310m.

Life
----
Single premium with-profits bond sales increased 84% to £201m in the
third quarter (July to September 1999: £109m).  Over the first nine
months of the year single premium bond sales totalled £550m - an
increase of 12% over the corresponding period in 1999.

Legal & General's strengths in the housing market led to a 10% increase
in mortgage related annual premiums over the first nine months of 2000
to £86m (30.9.99: £78m).  However, third quarter new business reflected
the lower level of transactions in the housing market and an increasing
trend towards repayment mortgages.


Unit trusts and ISAs
--------------------
In the unit trust and ISA market investors continued to focus on
specialist or themed funds.  Legal & General's main offering in this
area remains its range of index tracking funds although two more
specialist tracking funds and two actively managed funds are to be
added in the fourth quarter.  Although sales this year have been below
the level of 1999 when we benefited from a strong final PEP season, we
are a market leader in index tracking ISAs.  New business of £69m EPI
in the first nine months of 2000 compared to £88m in the corresponding
period last year.


Group life and pensions
-----------------------
New group risk and group pensions business over the first nine months,
totalled £50m EPI - a decrease of 21% (30.9.99: £63m).  

A major component of this market is bulk purchase annuity business
where year on year comparisons are affected by the relatively low
volumes which have been placed in the market this year pending the
outcome of an appeal case regarding the equalisation of Guaranteed
Minimum Pension rights.  However, Legal & General continues to win a
significant share of the schemes placed.

Group risk continues its strong performance with new business totalling
£25m EPI over the first nine months of 2000 (30.9.99: £18m),
reflecting growing market confidence in our ability to deliver value
for money products.


Fund management
---------------
The success and scale of our fund management business, in particular
our index fund capability, continues to be a key differentiator for
Legal & General.  During the third quarter, an exceptional £3.7bn of
new fund management business was secured - an increase of 19% over the
corresponding period last year.  New external funds gained during the
year to date now total £9.6bn (30.9.99: £9.1bn), including £1.1bn of
institutional business from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. 


International life and pensions
-------------------------------
Our business in the USA continues to develop its market position as a
major writer of term assurance for up-market customers.  Over the first
nine months of the year, EPI, which is almost entirely annual premium
business, grew by 4% to $76m (30.9.99: $73m).  This does not match
the exceptional growth rate achieved in 1999 when some sales were
brought forward in anticipation of changes in product availability and
pricing prior to the implementation of the triple X solvency
requirements.

Our European businesses have benefited from a strong competitive
position and have achieved above market growth.  In France, new
business volumes in the first nine months of 2000 increased by 41% to
EUR 24m EPI (30.9.99: EUR 17m).  We expect this business
to experience continuing growth in market share.

In the Netherlands, new business in the first nine months of 2000
increased by 30% to EUR 13m EPI (30.9.99: EUR 10m) contrasting
favourably with the decline in business seen in the market overall.
The strong support we have received from brokers for our product
initiatives has been key to the market share growth achieved this year.


For further information contact:

Investors:  Peter Horsman                Media: John Morgan
            Investor Relations Manager          Head of Public Relations
            020 7528 6362                       020 7528 6213
     
                                                Anthony Carlisle
                                                Citigate, Dewe Rogerson
                                                020 7638 9571







LEGAL & GENERAL GROUP PLC
UNAUDITED NEW BUSINESS PREMIUMS 
NINE MONTHS TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2000


NEW UK BUSINESS
===============

                   Nine months to             Three months to
                   30 September    increase/  30 September     increase/
                   2000    1999    (decrease) 2000    1999    (decrease)
                    £m      £m         %       £m      £m         %

INDIVIDUAL LIFE AND
PENSIONS BUSINESS

New annual premiums
Life:
 - Mortgage related 86      78                 29      33
 - Savings           1       1                  1       0
 - Protection       10      13                  4       5
Pensions:
 - Individual
    pensions        61      58                 19      18

Total new annual   ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
 premiums          158     150         5       53      56        (5)
             
Single premiums
Life:
 - With profits    468     342                201     109
 - Other            82     150                 22      63
Pensions:
 - Individual
    pensions       287     221                130      86
 - Annuities
    - individual   310     211                121      74
 - DSS rebates      76      88                 50      44
                              
Total single     -----   -----       ---      ---     ---       ---  
 premiums        1,223   1,012        21      524     376        39
           

Individual life    ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
and pensions EPI   280     251        12      105      94        12


GROUP LIFE AND
PENSIONS BUSINESS

New annual premiums
 - Group risk       25      18                 11       8
 - Group pensions    7       6                  4       3

Total new annual   ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
 premiums           32      24        33       15      11        36
             
Single premiums
 - Annuities -
    bulk purchase  122     338                 31      41
 - Other group
    business        58      53                 25      23

Total single       ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
 premiums          180     391       (54)      56      64       (13)
              

Group life and     ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
 pensions EPI       50      63       (21)      20      17        18


ISAS, PEPS AND UNIT TRUSTS
New annual premiums
 - ISAs/PEPs
    (excluding cash
    ISAs)           14      12        17        3       8       (63)
             
Single premiums
 - ISAs/PEPs
    (excluding cash
    ISAs)          345     555                 49      87
 - Unit trusts     207     210                 63      86

Total single       ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
 premiums          552     765       (28)     112     173       (35)
             
ISAs, PEPs and
unit trusts EPI    ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
                    69      88       (22)      14      25       (44)


                   ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
Total UK EPI       399     402        (1)     139     136         2
                   ===     ===       ===      ===     ===       ===


INSTITUTIONAL    -----   -----       ---    -----   -----       ---
FUND MANAGEMENT  9,599   9,148         5    3,730   3,144        19





WORLDWIDE NEW BUSINESS
======================

                   Nine months to             Three months to
                   30 September    increase/  30 September     increase/
                   2000    1999    (decrease) 2000    1999    (decrease)
                    £m      £m         %       £m      £m         %
New annual premiums
Life and pensions:
- Life             122     110                 45      46
- Pensions          68      64                 23      21

                   ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
  UK               190     174         9       68      67         1
- USA               52      44                 12      13
- Netherlands        4       4                  1       1
- France             4       4                  1       1

Total life and     ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
 pensions          250     226        11       82      82         0
          
Retail investment
 business:
- UK                14      12                  3       8

Total new annual   ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
 premiums          264     238        11       85      90        (6)
              
Single premiums
Life and pensions:
- Life             550     492                223     172
- Pensions         853     911                357     268

                 -----   -----       ---      ---     ---       --- 
  UK             1,403   1,403         0      580     440        32
- USA                0       1                  0       0
- Netherlands       30      26                  8       8
- France            78      46                 22      16

Total life and   -----   -----       ---      ---     ---       ---
 pensions        1,511   1,476         2      610     464        31
              
Retail investment
 business:
- UK               552     765                112     173
- France            27      25                  7       9

Total single     -----   -----       ---      ---     ---       ---
 premiums        2,090   2,266        (8)     729     646        13
            

Equivalent premium
 income (EPI)
- Life and pensions
   business        401     373         8      143     128        12     
- Retail investment
   business         72      91       (21)      15      26       (42)

                   ---     ---       ---      ---     ---       ---
Worldwide EPI      473     464         2      158     154         3
                   ===     ===       ===      ===     ===       ===






OVERSEAS OPERATIONS
IN LOCAL CURRENCY
=================

                       Nine months to    increase/
                       30 September      (decrease)
                       2000       1999       %
USA ($m):
New annual premiums     76         73
Single premiums          1          1

EPI                     76         73        4


Netherlands (EUR m)
New annual premiums      8          6
Single premiums         50         41

EPI                     13         10       30


France (EUR m)
New annual premiums      6          6
Single premiums        130         72
Unit trusts             46         38

EPI                     24         17       41



UK INDIVIDUAL EPI BY CHANNEL
============================

                    Nine months to 30 September 2000
                      Annual     Single      Total EPI
                        £m         £m       £m       %

Independent financial
 advisers               92        120      212      61
Business partnerships   59         24       83      24
Direct                  21         33       54      15

                       ---        ---      ---     ---
                       172        177      349     100
                       ===        ===      ===     ===


                    Nine months to 30 September 1999
                      Annual     Single      Total EPI
                        £m         £m       £m       %

Independent financial
 advisers               79        113      192      57
Business partnerships   66         23       89      26
Direct                  17         41       58      17

                       ---        ---      ---     ---
                       162        177      339     100
                       ===        ===      ===     ===