Isle of Man life and pensions provider Friends Provident International (FPI) has announced a third consecutive quarter of growth.

Strong sales momentum means that, despite tough trading conditions in the UK, FPI’s fourth quarter sales figures reached ?53.8m on the Annual Premium Equivalent basis.

The Castletown-based business employs in the region of 230 staff on the Isle of Man and more than over 400 staff worldwide.

The results helped lift the Group’s overall new life and pensions business in the fourth quarter of 2009 to ?368 million, double the level of sales in the third quarter.

FPI was recently named Life Insurer of the Year at the Gulf Insurance Review Awards in the Middle East and the Best Fund Platform at Hong Kong’s prestigious Benchmark Best Practice Awards.