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Mutual society Scottish Friendly has bought a £2.3bn book of pensions and annuities in payment from Fidelity International.
The acquisition was first announced in April last year and has now completed, with 35,000 policyholders moving to Scottish Friendly.
The Glasgow-based mutual's assets under management have received a boost through the transaction, which brings them to £6.8bn. This is not the first time the society adds to its assets; in late 2019, Scottish Friendly bought a £2.4bn legacy life and pensions book from Canada Life.
The friendly's chief executive Stephen McGee said: "Bringing a book of business of this scale across required careful planning and close collaboration with Fidelity International, and I want to thank everyone involved at Scottish Friendly and Fidelity International for ensuring such a smooth transition.”
Scottish Friendly stressed that the transfer preserves customers' existing benefits and retirement options.
Other relatively recent back-book deals include Rothesay Life's acquisition of a £6bn bulk annuity portfolio from Lloyds Banking Group, insuring the pension benefits of about 42,000 people. This was Rothesay's sixth such deal.
In 2019, the acquisition of a £12bn annuity book by Rothesay from the Prudential Assurance Company was blocked by the High Court despite regulatory approval, sending shockwaves through the sector. The judgment was later successfully appealed, and the transfer was given the green light in late 2021.
