Chesnara Expects £90 Million in Cash Flows from MetLife Acquisition
Key Facts
Chesnara announced on 6 November 2026 that it had agreed with MetLife to acquire the entire share capital of MetLife UK Limited, a closed-book insurer in the UK. Chesnara expects the portfolio to generate total cash flows of about £90 million over its lifetime, with around half emerging in the first five years after completion. The deal will add scale to the British company in its domestic market, while leaving MetLife’s ongoing protection business outside the transaction. Chief Executive Steve Murray said the acquisition “adds further scale and diversification to our UK business.” Completion is expected in the first half of 2027, subject to customary UK regulatory approvals.
The portfolio comprises about 18,000 customer policies and had £1.7 billion in assets under administration as of 31 December 2025, according to Chesnara’s announcement. MetLife UK closed to new business in 2017, and its portfolio includes unit-linked investment policies with optional guarantees and with-profits annuities. The deal therefore focuses on managing existing liabilities, rather than transferring the UK protection business that MetLife continues to provide to its customers. Chesnara said policy administration is already handled by SS&C Technologies, its existing UK outsourcing partner. It added that this arrangement makes the portfolio compatible with its target operating model.
In addition to the expected cash flows, Chesnara expects the deal to add about £45 million to own funds and the contractual service margin at completion, under its target operating model. The company estimated that the acquisition’s impact on its Solvency 2 ratio would be broadly neutral. The financial consideration, which is subject to customary adjustments at completion, is not expected to be material, the company said. Existing external reinsurance for the with-profits annuity portfolio will remain in place after completion; the European reinsurer concerned is rated “AA” by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. These arrangements distinguish the portfolio’s expected cash flows from the capital impact of the deal as presented by Chesnara.
The deal is part of a series of Chesnara acquisitions; the company’s announcement described it as its fourth announced transaction in the previous two years. The company completed its acquisition of HSBC Life UK in January 2026, in a deal with a stated value of £247 million that was partly funded by a £140 million capital raise. In February 2026, it also announced a proposed acquisition of Scottish Widows Europe for €110 million, with expected cash flows of €250 million over the lifetime of the policies, including €100 million in the first five years. Completion of that deal was targeted for around the end of 2026. These moves place the MetLife agreement within a broader growth strategy based on acquiring existing insurance portfolios.
Chesnara data for 30 June 2026 show that the company managed about 1.3 million policies, with assets under administration of more than £21 billion and a solvency coverage ratio of 185%. In its 2025 financial-year results, it reported operating capital generation of £94 million, up 19% from £79 million in 2024, and solvency coverage of 257%, compared with 203% at the end of the previous year. It then reported operating capital generation of £96 million in the six months ended 30 June 2026. These figures provide context for Chesnara’s scale and operating capacity, while the specific impact of the new agreement remains tied to its completion and the company’s estimates. The deal’s progress is expected to be determined after UK regulatory approvals are completed in the first half of 2027.