Clive Cowdery, the entrepreneur who runs Resolution, is preparing to hold a round of funding talks with City banks and institutional investors ahead of a multi-billion acquisition spree by his investment vehicle in the coming months.

The former insurance salesman, who failed in an attempt to take control of Bradford & Bingley, the mortgage bank, in June, is understood to be hoping to raise more than the £2 billion first mooted several months ago.

Mr Cowdery made his reputation, and a £150 million fortune, last year after turning Resolution into a £4.9 billion FTSE 100 closed life fund group and selling it to Pearl, the sector rival.

His ambitions for future projects are similarly adventurous, according to sources.

Mr Cowdery is likely to seek letters of comfort from bank lenders over the coming week to enable him to move quickly on a bid target. He is also thought to preparing to talk to some of the UK's big shareholders to sound out the level of support.

Mr Cowdery, who is ploughing his fortune into Resolution, will target vulnerable business in the banking, life assurance, asset management and general insurance sectors in the UK and overseas.

He is expected to move in earnest after Christmas.

Resolution had previously drawn up a bid list featuring about 15 names, including the specialist lenders Paragon and Kensington Mortgages. This list has now been abandoned.

Speculation that Friends Provident was a target sent shares in the life and pensions group more than 3 per cent higher, up 3.5p at 102.9p, today.

Sources close to Resolution played down the bid interest, stating that Friends Provident was one of numerous potential targets, but no work on buying the insurer had been carried out.

Friends Provident struck an aborted merger deal with Resolution before the Pearl sale.

Resolution's most likely approach will be to buy a controlling stake in a company and secure the support for a turnaround strategy from its leading shareholders.

Companies are likely to be left on the public market, with existing shareholders offered the opportunity to take part in the turnaround.

Bradford & Bingley's four leading shareholders, Legal & General, Standard Life, M&G and Insight, threw their weight behind Resolution but the board denied the vehicle the chance to carry out due diligence.

Resolution declined to comment.

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