5th Nov 2015 09:08
LONDON (Alliance News) - Just Retirement Group PLC on Thursday said it has won three further defined-benefit de-risking sales with a combined value of GBP269.0 million, meaning that the company now expects to write about GBP500.0 million of defined benefit sales in the first half of its current financial year.
The news came as Just Retirement reported that defined benefit de-risking sales, under which Just Retirement takes on the risk of company pension schemes that pay a guaranteed income to former employees in their retirement, amounted to GBP103.6 million in its first quarter, which ended on September 30.
The defined-benefit de-risking sales achieved since then were completed in October, Just Retirement said, with two of those being the largest transactions completed by the company in that part of the market. New pensions freedoms in the UK have hit sales of individual annuities, increasing the importance of establishing a presence in the corporate defined-benefit space.
"The DB de-risking team has again delivered real success, with more than a 300% increase in sales. The transactions announced today, including the GBP269 million in October, take our DB De-risking business to over GBP1.0 billion of sales since inception just over 2 years ago, which is a huge achievement," Chief Executive Rodney Cook said in a statement.
Total new business sales amounted to GBP359.9 million in the first quarter, up 41% on the corresponding period the prior year.
Guaranteed-income-for-life sales were 7% higher than the comparative period the prior year, while lifetime mortgage advances of GBP114.4 million were up 42% on the first quarter of the prior year.
Cook said the results from the first quarter mean that the company has "momentum" as it looks to complete its merger with Partnership Assurance Group PLC in December, subject to approval from regulators and shareholders. The pair announced a GBP1.7 billion merger in August, with the combined group to be named JRP Group PLC.
"I am more convinced than ever that we will be stronger together with Partnership, and that the best is yet to come," Cook said.
Separately, Partnership said it had GBP109.0 million of sales in its third quarter, which ended on September 30, a 22% increase on the corresponding quarter the prior year.
Partnership said that individually underwritten annuity sales amounted to GBP68.0 million in the quarter, broadly flat year-on-year, while medically underwritten defined-benefit sales - which assess a pensioner's health - amounted to GBP24.0 million.
Chief Executive Steve Groves, who is to step down on completion of the merger, said that Partnership saw "tangible" progress in the quarter.
Shares in Just Retirement were up 3.3% at 165.80 pence on Thursday morning, while Partnership Assurance was up 2.5% at 134.75p.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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