Aegon to sell £6bn annuity portfolio

The transaction covers approximately 187,000 policyholders who will remain customers of Aegon and continue to be serviced by Aegon until the effective date of a Part VII Transfer.

The sale will see Aegon offload two thirds of its UK annuity portfolio which it says will benefit its investment platform and protection business.

Alex Wynaendts, chief executive of Aegon, said:

"This is an important step in the process to fully divest our UK annuity portfolio, and will enable us to focus on our fast-growing platform in the UK.

"We are confident that this transaction is also in the best interests of our annuity customers, as Rothesay Life is an established and respected specialist provider in the UK annuity market."

Addy Loudiadis, Chief Executive and founder of Rothesay Life, added:

"As a specialist provider of annuities, I am delighted that Aegon has chosen Rothesay Life to secure its policyholders’ pensions over the long term. This transaction represents a significant step for Rothesay Life taking total assets under management to over £20bn and total lives insured to over 400,000.”

“The prevalence of non-core businesses in multi-line insurers is creating opportunities for Rothesay Life. With the market set to expand and strong support from our shareholders, Rothesay Life is well positioned to pursue these opportunities in addition to our ongoing bulk annuity business.”