Tom Pearce: Rothesay is committed to prudent pricing discipline and a careful approach to risk management
Rothesay has reported a decline in new business premiums in the first half of 2025 – generating £300m in the first six months of the year, down from £9.5bn in the comparable period last year.
The firm's half-year trading update – published today (23 September) – said the new business figures followed "substantial" business volumes in 2024, a year in which it had agreed to buy Scottish Widows' £6bn bulk annuity portfolio from Lloyds Banking Group.
The specialist insurer additionally said it had either completed, or was exclusive on, over £4bn of deals in the second half of the year so far.
Rothesay said it generated pre-tax IFRS profits of £406m in the first half of the year – up from £21m in the same period last year. It posted adjusted operating profits of £337m in the first six months of 2025, down from £725m during the first half of last year.
It said its market consistent embedded value (MCEV) had increased from £7.7bn at the end of last year to £8.0bn as at 30 June 2025.
The insurer said it was strongly positioned in the market going forward but would "maintain its disciplined and patient approach" to ensure new business returns were attractive.
Rothesay chief executive Tom Pearce said: "Rothesay's commitment to prudent pricing discipline and a careful approach to risk management delivered strong financial performance in the first half of 2025, following a year of substantial new business volumes in 2024.
"Our dedicated in-house asset management team is making good progress in deploying these premiums in line with our cautious, long-term investment strategy, including investing at scale in UK productive assets through innovative partnerships with organisations like the National Wealth Fund."
Pearce added: "The combination of our substantial capital resources, supportive long-term shareholders, and proven execution capabilities mean we continue to be very well-positioned for the exciting future opportunities we are seeing in a dynamic pension risk transfer market, delivering on our purpose to secure the future for our policyholders."
Rothesay has completed several bulk annuity transaction over the last year, including a £900m buy-in with National Grid, which was the third deal between the pair, a £120m buy-in with the AQA Pension Scheme, and a £105m buy-in with the Skipton Building Society. Also, it was confirmed last year that NatWest would transfer £11bn of pension assets to purchase buy-ins with the insurer.
