Scottish Friendly posts second highest sales – Daily Business

Scottish Friendly, the Glasgow-based mutual, has posted sales of £50.6m, the second-highest in its 163-year history.

Sales of own brand products increased by 30% year-on-year, driven primarily by new ISA and Junior ISA business.

The Society’s strong performance has enabled it to enhance member benefits, distributing £23m to eligible members, including £4.5m through its ProfitShare scheme in 2024.

Total assets under management stood at £4.2bn, slightly down from the previous year due to investment market returns and the net impact of policyholder premiums and claims.

Scottish Friendly recently announced the acquisition of pension and annuity in-payment books of business from Fidelity International.

This marks another important step to grow the Society and deliver value for its members. The acquisition consists of a book of unit-linked pensions business comprising £2.14bn liabilities across 76 schemes and covering c40,000 policyholders, and the in-payment annuities book with liabilities of £7.3m and c1,000 annuitants.

Stephen McGee, chief executive, said: “2024 marked another milestone in Scottish Friendly’s rich 163-year history, as we achieved our second-highest sales result to date and shared some profits with our eligible members.

“This is a testament to the strength of our strategy and unwavering focus on delivering meaningful value to our members. 

“Our acquisition from Fidelity International builds on our recent performance and underlines our ambition to scale responsibly while remaining focused on member value.”