Sun Alliance Group plc was a large insurance business with its main offices in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

and later

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby ...

. It was created in 1959 by the merger of

Sun Insurance The Sun Fire Office, later Sun Insurance, was founded in London in 1710 and developed into a leading international insurance business. In 1959, Sun Insurance merged with Alliance Assurance to form Sun Alliance. History The Eighteenth Century ...

, founded in 1710, and Alliance Assurance founded in 1824. In 1996 Sun Alliance merged with

Royal Insurance Royal Insurance Holdings plc was a large insurance business originating in Liverpool but based in London from the early 20th century. It merged with Sun Alliance in 1996 to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group. History Formation and ...

to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group. In the mid-1960s Sun Alliance established its administrative centre in a large office block, spanning an A-road through the town centre of

, a railway town south of London's centre. and its head office at 1 Bartholomew Lane in London. The Horsham building, St Marks Court is earmarked as developable. In an external recess, to the market place (Carfax) side, is the tall spired tower of the church.Horsham Town Local List
Horsham Council Its nave was demolished in about 1985. The spire was part of the original church of 1841 constructed from sandstone. The tower's base has become a florist and volunteers’ centre. Sun Alliance went on to acquire the London Assurance Company in 1965 (becoming Sun Alliance & London) and

Phoenix Assurance Phoenix Assurance or Phoenix Fire Office was a fire insurance company founded in 1680 in England.The Times, 27 June 1785 Classified Advertising The history of the company includes the nostalgia of red-coated attendants clattering to the fires ...

in 1984. The company thus added suffix "Group" in 1989, consolidated most UK-based operations into the Horsham office in 1990, and yet kept its London head office. The company merged with

to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group in 1996. File:Royal Sun Alliance buildings - geograph.org.uk - 438085.jpg, Sun Alliance offices in Horsham, behind the spire that sits in one of its recesses Sun Fire Office insurance mark (cropped).jpg, A Sun Fire Office insurance mark

References

{{Authority control Insurance companies of the United Kingdom Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Financial services companies disestablished in 1996 British companies disestablished in 1996