Shares in Legal & General were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as the insurance company published its third quarter figures two weeks ahead of scheduled, after inadvertently sending figures to analysts yesterday afternoon.

In the three months to 30 September total new business on an Annual Premium Equivalent basis rose 27 per cent to £466 million.

The group also reported a rise in new gross funds of 13 per cent to £5.63 billion.

Legal & General said that the figures it sent to analysts last night were part of a "working draft" of its Q3 numbers for 2010, as a result it had decided to publish the "actual numbers".

The company said it would be making its third quarter trading update with the complete figures as planned on 9 November.

By 10:55 shares in Legal & General were down 1.53 per cent on the FTSE 100 to 102.70 pence per share.

FTSE