Lloyds Is Tidying Up Its European Edges
Lloyds Banking Group has sold off its Luxembourg-based life insurance arm, Scottish Widows Europe, to FTSE 250 pensions consolidator Chesnara for €110m (£96m). The deal adds around €1.7bn in assets under administration and roughly 46,000 active policies to Chesnara’s growing book — and marks the acquirer’s first foothold in Luxembourg. Fresh off a bumper profit for the 2025 financial year, Lloyds is clearly in housekeeping mode.
What Chesnara Is Getting for Its Money
Chesnara pitched this to markets as an “attractive multiple” — and it’s hard to argue. The firm paid around 64 cents for every euro of Scottish Widows Europe’s net asset value. Over the lifetime of the acquired policies, Chesnara expects to pull in roughly €250m in cash. Not bad for a business Lloyds was ready to move on from.
For Chesnara, it’s about more than the numbers. CEO Steve Murray called it “another material and value-accretive transaction,” adding that Luxembourg now gives the firm a launchpad for broader European consolidation. In plain terms: they’re not done shopping.
This Is Becoming a Habit
This is Chesnara’s second major deal with a UK bank in quick succession. Earlier this year, it completed the acquisition of HSBC’s UK life protection arm in a £260m deal — bringing nearly £4bn in assets and around 454,000 policies into the group.
With Scottish Widows Europe now in the mix, Chesnara says it administers approximately 1.4m policies across its markets, with that figure set to climb further post-integration. The firm only joined the FTSE 250 index last August, following Assura’s exit after its takeover by Primary Health Properties — and it’s already moving fast.
What It Means for Lloyds
For Lloyds, this is a clean, low-drama disposal. Scottish Widows Europe was a relatively contained Luxembourg operation, and offloading it fits the broader pattern of UK banks streamlining non-core assets. Lloyds gets £96m back into the fold, sheds an overseas insurance book it doesn’t need, and lets a specialist consolidator handle the policyholders from here.
The Bottom Line
Lloyds is selling off the pieces it doesn’t need. Chesnara is buying everything it can get its hands on. For policyholders, the practical impact is minimal — but as a signal of where UK life insurance consolidation is heading, this deal speaks volumes. Specialist consolidators are becoming the go-to exit route for big banks wanting to slim down. Watch this space.
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FAQ
Q1: What is Scottish Widows Europe?
A: Scottish Widows Europe is the Luxembourg-based life insurance arm of Lloyds Banking Group. It held around €1.7bn in assets under administration and approximately 46,000 in-force policies at the time of the sale.
Q2: Why did Lloyds sell Scottish Widows Europe?
A: Lloyds is shedding non-core assets as part of ongoing business simplification. The Luxembourg operation was a relatively small, specialist unit — selling it to a dedicated consolidator like Chesnara makes strategic sense.
Q3: Who is Chesnara?
A: Chesnara is a UK-based pensions and life insurance consolidator listed on the FTSE 250. It specialises in acquiring closed and open life insurance books from larger financial institutions.
Q4: How much did Chesnara pay for Scottish Widows Europe?
A: Chesnara paid €110m (approximately £96m), which equates to around 64 cents per euro of net asset value — a rate the firm described as an attractive multiple.
Q5: What does this mean for Scottish Widows Europe policyholders?
A: Policyholders will transfer to Chesnara’s administration. In practice, the terms of existing life insurance and pension contracts remain unchanged — Chesnara simply takes over the management and servicing of those policies.
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Effective Date: 15th July 2025
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