Insurance and pensions consolidator Chesnara is looking for fresh takeover targets after the acquisition of HSBC Life UK helped its new business in the UK to more than double in the opening six months of the year.
Chesnara wrote £12m of new business in the UK during the first half of the year compared to £5m in the same period of 2025.
This, the group said, was largely driven by demand for bond offerings across Countrywide Assured and HSBC Life UK, which is now known as Chesnara Life UK.
Chesnara had £96m of cash in the first half of the year, up from £54m a year earlier. Of the latest figures, £51m was generated by the former HBSC business.
The £260m acquisition of HSBC Life UK was completed in January and has increased the group’s assets under administration by £5bn.
This was part of a 38% improvement with positive market conditions, largely in Sweden, also driving growth.
In the UK, Chesnara’s funds increased by £331m, of which £325m resulted from the takeover of HSBC Life.
The acquisition helped return the group to profit with it making £1m after tax during the period following a £11m loss at the end of 2025.
Chesnara said that the integration of Chesnara Life UK into the business is “on track” with the migration of HSBC’s systems data expected to complete by the end of this year.
In another update on the acquired life business, Chesnara has confirmed that as the two companies were consolidated some people have left the business. But Health & Protection understands that Mark Hussein, who was chief executive at HSBC Life UK when Chesnara bought the business, has been retained as the head of Chesnara Life UK.
Steve Murray, Chesnara’s group chief executive, said: “The integration of Chesnara Life UK, our largest acquisition to date, continues at pace with strong capital generation already delivered from our first five months of ownership.”
The FTSE 250 member’s acquisition of Scottish Widows Europe is predicted to close at the end of the year, where it is expected to add €250m of lifetime cash generation to the group, €1.7bn of assets under management and 46,000 policies.
Murray added that “we continue to see attractive opportunities to grow the business, underpinned by a healthy M&A pipeline and disciplined execution across the group.”