RSA, the general insurance group, is looking at large acquisitions – potentially worth about £600m ($997m) – that might need to be supported with a rights issue, it has told investors and analysts.

The company, which has a strong capital cushion and a stated strategy of pursuing smaller, bolt-on deals, said there were “recently emerged opportunities that could be larger than ‘bolt-on’ acquisitions”, according to analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.