LEI
Number: 213800VFRMBRTSZ3SJ06
|
|
23 December 2024
CHESNARA plc
("Chesnara" or "the Company")
ANNOUNCEMENT OF A SECOND
PORTFOLIO ACQUISITION FROM CANADA LIFE UK
Chesnara plc, the European life and
pensions consolidator, today announces it has reached an agreement
with Canada Life Limited ("Canada Life UK") to acquire a closed
portfolio of unit linked bonds and legacy pension business with
approximately 17,000 policies and total assets under management of
£1.5 billion as at 31 December 2023. As a result of the
acquisition, the policies are expected to transfer to Chesnara's UK
subsidiary, Countrywide Assured plc ("Countrywide Assured") at the
end of 2025 (subject to the completion of a court-approved Part VII
transfer). This transaction follows the previous acquisition of an
individual onshore protection business from Canada Life in
2023.
In the interim period, Canada Life
UK will reinsure the portfolio to Countrywide Assured, effective
from 31 December 2023. The consideration as part of the reinsurance
agreement is £2 million, funded from internal Group resources, and
we expect the transaction to provide an uplift in the Group's
Economic Value of at least £8 million, contribute £8 million of
cash generation over a five year period, with a small initial
reduction to the Group's Solvency II ratio of approximately 2
percentage points.
Steve Murray, Group Chief Executive,
commented:
"We are pleased to continue our
relationship with Canada Life through the agreement of our second
recent transaction, following the acquisition of 47,000 protection
policies that we announced last year. I am looking forward to
welcoming these new customers and their advisors to Chesnara and
they can be confident we will continue to provide high levels of
customer service as part of a financially strong and growing
group.
"This transaction, the sixth deal
implemented in the past three years, will add additional scale to
our UK business which now looks after over 300,000 policies, and
provides an attractive return on investment for our
shareholders. We continue to see a range of M&A
opportunities and are highly confident in our ability to finance
and execute such transactions on attractive terms for vendors,
customers and our shareholders."
For further information, please
contact:
Investor Enquiries
Sam Perowne
Head of Strategic Development &
Investor Relations
Chesnara plc
E - sam.perowne@chesnara.co.uk
Media Enquiries
Roddy Watt
Director, Capital Markets
FWD
T - 020 7280 0651 / 07714 770
493
E - roddy.watt@fwdconsulting.co.uk
Notes to
Editors
Chesnara (CSN.L) is a European life
and pensions consolidator listed on the London Stock
Exchange. It administers over one million policies and
operates as Countrywide Assured in the UK, as The Waard Group and
Scildon in the Netherlands and as Movestic in Sweden.
Following a three-pillar strategy,
Chesnara's primary responsibility is the efficient administration
of its customers' life and savings policies, ensuring good customer
outcomes and providing a secure and compliant environment to
protect policyholder interests. It also adds value by writing
profitable new business in Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK and
by undertaking value-adding acquisitions of either companies or
portfolios.
Consistent delivery of the Company
strategy has enabled Chesnara to increase its dividend for 20 years
in succession.
Further details are available on the
Company's website (www.chesnara.co.uk).