Bermuda-based XL Capital is being tipped as one of the lead bidders for General Electric?s UK life insurance group, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

GE appeared to abandon the sale of its Life arm last month after Sanlam, the South African insurer that had been in exclusive talks with GE, pulled out.

The Herald reports however that investment bank Hawkpoint has been called in to get a new auction process with deadlines for bids understood to be this Friday.

Swiss Re is seen to be another lead bidder, while Pearl Group, the company run by entrepreneur Hugh Osmond which has also looked at GE Life, is now thought unlikely to bid.

Sanlam is thought to have offered about $640 million (?350m). Bankers now expect bids in the auction to be between $548 million (?300m) and $640 million.

The Telegraph reported that the proposed sale is part of the GE?s plan to exit the insurance industry. It sold its reinsurance arm General Electric Insurance Solutions to Swiss Re for $7.4billion (?4 billion) last year. XL Capital did not offer comment on the report by press time.