Equitable Life, the mutual life insurer, has halted the sale of its £7 billion with-profits fund after failing to a buyer for the business due to the "current financial and economic climate".

The group said today that it had received approaches to buy its remaining assets.

However, it said: "Given the current financial and economic climate and having taken appropriate advice, the board decided that although various proposals were received none would certainly provide improved prospects for policyholders."

Equitable Life will now focus on putting the fund into "run-off", which is where an insurer continues to run policies until they mature. It added it will now look at the "company, people, structure and costs".

The insurer offered its assets for sale at the beginning of the year after transferring £1.7 billion of with-profits annuities to Prudential and £4.6 billion of non-profit pension annuities to Canada Life.

The process was undertaken to see "whether a third party could improve prospects by way of lower costs or greater expense certainty."

However, Vanni Treves, chairman of Equitable Life, said: "Having carried out this important test of our options for improving prospects for our policyholders, we will now focus on a stable and secure run-off of the society.”

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