Benfield Group, the world's largest privately owned reinsurance intermediary, has chosen to float in London rather than New York due to the changing regulatory environment in the US and its associated costs.

Last month Benfield moved its headquarters to Bermuda to give the board a choice of the US or UK for the company's initial public offering. Grahame Chilton, chief executive of Benfield, said: "Recent high-profile events in the US have resulted in an unattractive environment in which to pursue a US public offering at this time. This is not to say that Benfield would rule out listing in the US in the future when the current uncertainties have settled."