Evidence is mounting that the administrators running Quinn Insurance are pushing for the opening of more UK lines of business not so much to restore profits, but to make the business more attractive for sale.

Senior sources close to the Irish regulator have confirmed that if Quinn Insurance was to reopen its UK commercial business it would have to significantly increase its premiums, in some cases by up to 2,000 per cent. However, even if the insurer is approved to reopen its UK commercial operation, brokers have said that there would be "no appetite" for Quinn Insurance products if premiums were increased by such a huge amount, market sources said.

The administrators, Grant Thornton, have given the Financial Regulator an actuarial analysis and outlined increased pricing with a view to seeking approval to reopen the commercial business in the UK as soon as possible.

It is understood that the administrators are keen to get Quinn Insurance back up and running as a going concern in order to be able to provide a realistic valuation on the company for its impending sale. One senior private equity source said that "there needs to be a clearer picture on the future earnings at the group in order to put together a worthwhile offer for the company".

The resignation last Thursday of chief executive Colin Morgan has heightened speculation that the sale process is progressing at pace.

Richard Brown, director of Prime Professionals, which focuses on professional indemnity insurance for sole-trading solicitors, said that although "Quinn's reputation had been damaged by the appointment of administrators, it was not irretrievable".

However, he added that if premiums were to increase by such a large amount, the insurer would find it difficult to write any new business. "The insurance market always needs more competition so we would be keen for them to return," Brown said, adding that their offering needed to be competitive.

At the end of April, Quinn Insurance received approval from the regulator to offer motor insurance policies in Britain. Brokers said that its current offering was significantly less competitive compared to its position before the company went into administration. Although none would provide specific figures, the brokers all said that Quinn was finding it much more difficult to win new business in the motor insurance sector, an area which was previously profitable for the insurer.

Earlier this month, Elderfield told a Dáil committee that it had only become feasible to reopen the beleaguered insurer's UK motor operation after prices were hiked considerably. Up until that point it had long been speculated that Quinn's UK operations were a loss leader – they offered premiums that were low, making it difficult for the company to make a profit in order to win business and market share. According to industry sources, Quinn's UK operation is losing approximately £1m (€1.15m) per day in income as its UK book is thought to have gross written premiums (GWP) of £300m.

The regulator said that there have been more than 40 approaches from interested purchasers.

It is not clear whether the approaches, which have come from both insurance companies and private equity firms, are for the entire insurance group.

Anglo Irish Bank is rumoured to be working with an international insurer to put forward a second bid for the company. The nationalised bank is hoping that this move will allay any concerns that it cannot fund the deal. There has also been some speculation that a member of the Quinn family may try to buy the insurer and has been approaching US investors to see if there is any appetite to fund a purchase of the group.

Any interested party would have to fund a capital injection of around €700m into the group. The administrators have already begun a cost-cutting exercise in order to make the business ready for sale. This will include redundancies of around 900, over a third of the company's staff, which will save the company about €30m a year.

Quinn Insurance was placed into administration earlier this year after the regulator raised concerns about its solvency. The firm's problems originate from massive losses made when Sean Quinn made a stock market gamble on the now nationalised Anglo Irish Bank. It emerged that the insurance operation had provided guarantees on the Quinn Group debts of over €1.2bn. Anglo is owed €2.8bn by Quinn and his family following their purchase of contracts for difference (CFDs) in the bank. As a result of this Quinn resigned as executive chairman in early May. At the time he said he was doing it to "concentrate in the short term on Quinn family interests outside of Quinn Group and, in particular, on the interaction of these interests with Anglo Irish Bank".