Insurance giant Standard Life said it had taken advantage of favourable markets to issue a substantial amount of debt in Canada.

Standard Life Canada announced its first Canadian dollar debt issuance raising C$400m - around £254m - at a rate of 3.938% for five years.

The firm said the initiative had 'optimised' the financial structure of the group and built on past actions to re-shape its balance sheet.

"It helps to re-leverage the Group and, through our ability to access the debt markets in Canada, provides capital at a very attractive cost," the statement said.

"The strong market demand, which was evidenced by a heavily over subscribed order book, has enabled Standard Life Canada to price competitively at the low end of its target range, thereby underlining the attractiveness of Standard Life Canada's credit, the strength of its recent performance and its future strategic direction."

In its first half results, the insurer posted a 30% drop in profits in Canada, which it put down to the timing of business restructuring and low interest rates.

Related share prices
Standard Life (SL.) share price