XPS Pensions Group posts 18% rise in revenue in third year of double-digit growth

The group said this marked its third consecutive year of double-digit growth driven by continued strong client demand.

It said advisory revenues grew 10% with actuarial and consulting up 14% driven by continued growth in risk transfer and GMP projects – adding that, while investment consulting revenues were down 4%, this was due to activity levels normalising having grown 46% over the previous two years.

It said administration revenues grew 30% year on year, with GMP, the onboarding of new client wins and one-off McCloud remedy projects contributing to strong growth.

XPS noted the successful onboarding of the John Lewis Partnership pension scheme administration contract ahead of schedule; continued growth in the risk transfer market, including winning competitive mandates on multi-billion-pound pension schemes; the launch of its new ‘Radar' functionality to support the run-on versus buyout debate; and the transition to its proprietary administration platform Aurora as some of its key achievements during the year.

It also noted how it had established a new insurance consulting team with multiple senior hires and the acquisition of insurance consultancy business Polaris Actuaries and Consultants in February.

Source: XPS Pensions Group

XPS Pensions Group co-chief executive Paul Cuff said: "We are delighted that for the third year in a row we have achieved really strong growth and are reporting another excellent set of financial results.

"There have been many highlights this year. Our clients have faced many challenges and opportunities, and we are proud of how well we have looked after them. In the public sector our work on McCloud was a huge challenge, but we rose to it and delivered successfully for the members of the schemes we administer. In this area we are very well placed to help others who have not yet completed their McCloud projects. In the private sector the backdrop is of seismic changes taking place as funding level improvements and regulatory changes create valuable options for our clients, who need good strategic advice about the best path for them to take. Our strong client survey results show that we're meeting their needs well too."

He added: "We have seen growth in other areas that we have been investing in, and in particular it has been good to see our risk transfer team go from strength to strength, advising on a number of the largest deals to come to the market this year."

Outlook

Looking ahead, XPS said it expected market and regulatory changes would continue to generate high demand for its services.

Despite this, it said that, with the McCloud work now largely complete, next year's results would face "tough comparators" but said it still anticipated continued growth, in line with the board's recently upgraded expectations – noting that one of its largest administration clients, John Lewis, has only recently gone live and adding that migrations to its Aurora system will continue to drive efficiencies.

XPS also said that, with workplace pensions high on the political agenda and the recent tabling of the Pension Schemes Bill to parliament, it was also positive on the outlook for the pension fee market and continued to see a "considerable runway of growth" in the years ahead.

At the same time, XPS said it was also excited about the opportunity to diversify into the closely related insurance consulting sector and noted it was building scale to capture more of this £1.5bn market – noting that, together with its core £2.5bn pension fee market, it was aiming to expand its addressable end markets to £4.0bn and lay the foundations for future growth.

The firm said: "While we do not take the opportunities in front of us for granted, we know that by continuing to execute well and work hard for our clients, we have a strategy and platform in place that have a long and growing track record of delivery. We are confident that we are well placed for further growth in FY 2026 and beyond."