UK life insurer Friends Provident - whose plan to merge with rival Resolution collapsed - yesterday forced out its chief executive Philip Moore and said it would hold a strategic review.

Chairman Adrian Montague will take over as executive chairman until a successor to Mr Moore is found, the insurer said.

Jim Smart, the group finance director, will work with Mr Montague to lead a detailed review of the firm's strategy. It intends to update shareholders on the review by the time of the fourth-quarter new business results at the end of January.

"This has been a challenging year for the group and its management team. We remain confident of the group's prospects. However, it is right that we should take a hard look at the group's strategy to ensure that we are delivering the highest value available to shareholders," Mr Montague said in a statement.

"The board has concluded that this requires a change in the management team."

Friends Provident's strategy has come under close scrutiny since its planned £8.7 billion merger with Resolution fell through last month, putting pressure on the former mutual's management.

"I think this clears the deck for the next step in Friends' evolution," said Fox-Pitt, Kelton analyst Raghu Hariharan.

"There needs to be an agent of change, which will either be new external management or an acquisition. I think it's positive for the stock as it helps investors put the past behind them."

A takeover would be the "ideal situation" for investors, Mr Hariharan said, adding a consortium bid may be most likely."

Rivals named as potential suitors include Zurich Financial Services, AXA, UK-listed Old Mutual and Standard Life.