London pensions firm eyes more deals after HSBC and Lloyds takeovers
Pension consolidator Chesnara has said it is eyeing more deals after it swung back into profit following its takeover of HSBC Life UK.
The London-listed firm recorded a £61m pre-tax profit in the first half of 2026, bouncing back from a £5m loss in the same period last year.
Revenue soared to £255.9m, up from £136m, after the group’s total assets swelled following the integration of the HSBC portfolio. The unit added £5bn in assets under administration alongside 440,000 active policies.
The company is set for a further lift from its £100m takeover of Lloyds’ Scottish Widows Europe which is set to formally take place “around the end of 2026”.
Chief executive Steve Murray said the company is now sizing up more potential takeovers.
“We continue to see attractive opportunities to grow the business, underpinned by a healthy M&A pipeline,” he said in a statement.
Lloyds sold Scottish Widows Europe to Chesnara in February in a deal the firm said would add around €1.7bn in assets under administration and about 46,000 in-force policies, which refer to life insurance and pension contracts.
The firm framed the deal as an “attractive multiple” to markets, after paying around 64 cents for every euro of value Scottish Widows Europe owns.
The UK-based pensions consolidator also expects the fresh addition to its portfolio to contribute around €250m of cash over the lifetime of its policies.
Chesnara hikes returns ahead of completing Lloyds deal
The addition of HSBC’s portfolio helped drive the group’s total operating capital generation – which refers to how much cash an insurer generates from everyday operations – up by 79 per cent to £96m.
The firm re-entered the FTSE 250 in August 2025 on the back of the HSBC acquisition. The deal came after the bank’s boss Georges Elhedery laid out plans for a “simpler, more dynamic and agile organisation” in his overhaul first announced in October 2024.
Chesnara hiked its dividend by six per cent on the back of the profit boom to 8.16 per share. It marks the 22nd consecutive year Chesnara has delivered increased returns.