Chesnara has agreed to acquire Luxembourg-based closed life insurance firm, Scottish Widows Europe, for €110m.

The acquisition will add €1.7bn of assets under administration to Chesnara, as well as approximately 46,000 in-force policies.

Scottish Widows Europe’s portfolio is expected to generate around €250m over the lifetime of its policies, with €100m occurring in the first five years.

Chesnara stated that its primary focus has been on consolidating life and pensions books in the UK and Europe, complemented by profitable new business written its businesses in Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK.

The acquisition marks the UK insurer’s entrance into the Luxembourg market, and the group said the addition of new policyholders based in Germany, Austria and Italy provides a “platform for increased consolidation and scale” across Europe.

Chief executive officer at Chesnara, Steve Murray, stated: "We are delighted to announce Chesnara's second significant acquisition in the past twelve months. Scottish Widows Europe is another material and value-accretive transaction with a product set that we know well.

"It marks our entry into Luxembourg, providing a new platform for in-market and wider European consolidation and expansion. We are pleased that another major financial institution, Lloyds Banking Group, has chosen us to look after their policyholders. We look forward to welcoming Scottish Widows Europe policyholders and new colleagues to Chesnara."

The deal is set to complete by the end of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

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