REG - Pension Ins Corp plc - Athora Group completes acquisition of PICG
27/03/2026 10:45
For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260327:nRSa4449Ya&default-theme=true
RNS Number : 4449Y Pension Insurance Corporation PLC 27 March 2026
Athora Group completes acquisition of Pension Insurance Corporation Group and
announces plans to relocate headquarters to the UK
· Successful completion marks Athora's entry into the UK market and
creates one of Europe's largest savings and retirement services groups
· Pension Insurance Corporation becomes Athora's UK insurance business
and will continue to operate under its existing brand, while benefitting from
Athora's capabilities
· Athora plans to relocate its headquarters to the UK by late 2027,
subject to regulatory approvals
London, 27 March 2026, Athora Holding Ltd. (together with its subsidiaries,
"Athora" or "Athora Group") today announces the completion of its acquisition
of Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited ("PICG"), including its wholly
owned subsidiary, Pension Insurance Corporation plc ("PIC"). This creates one
of the largest savings and retirement services groups in Europe, with €139
billion of Assets under Management and Administration ("AuMA"), serving 3.1
million policyholders¹.
Athora now has scaled operations in the UK and the Netherlands, as well as
businesses in Italy, Belgium and Germany, alongside reinsurance operations in
Bermuda.
As Athora's UK insurance business, Pension Insurance Corporation will continue
to operate under the PIC brand, as it continues to grow and compete in the
pension risk transfer market. PIC has a portfolio of £54.8 billion of assets,
representing approximately 45% of Athora's AuMA. It serves nearly 450,000
policyholders, to whom it has paid more than £19 billion in pensions¹.
Unlocking enhanced long-term investment and growth capacity
As part of Athora, PIC gains access to increased long-term growth capital and
expanded asset origination capabilities especially in private investment grade
credit, through Athora's strategic relationship with Apollo. To date, PIC has
invested approximately £15 billion in the UK real economy. Together, Athora
and PIC expect the combination to accelerate scaled investment in high-quality
assets, securing the pensions of more defined benefit pension scheme members
for the long term.
Athora will support PIC in its mission to deliver market leading customer
outcomes while expanding its capacity to meet the needs of trustees seeking
secure pension risk transfer solutions.
Athora Group intends to relocate its headquarters to the UK
Athora also announces its intention to relocate its corporate and legal
headquarters from Bermuda to the UK by late 2027, subject to regulatory
approvals. This process will include the transfer of Athora's business to a
new public limited company incorporated in England and Wales as the new
holding company of the Group.
During this transitional phase, the Bermuda Monetary Authority will continue
as the Group supervisor and Athora shall comply with PRA group supervision
requirements on a modified basis in parallel. Upon completion of the
relocation process, it is expected that the PRA will become Athora's Group
supervisor.
The relocation of Athora's headquarters to the UK represents a significant
investment in the UK economy and reinforces London's role as a centre for
insurance and financial services. London will serve as Athora's corporate
headquarters, where Athora and PIC currently employ 800(1) people.
Commenting on the PIC acquisition and planned relocation, Mike Wells, Group
Chief Executive Officer of Athora, said:
"We are delighted to welcome PIC into the Athora family as our UK insurance
business. PIC's exceptional track record, strong brand and reputation, and
commitment to customer service make it an outstanding addition to our Group.
Backed by our long-term capital base and asset origination capabilities, we
think PIC is uniquely positioned to support the growing needs of the UK
pension risk transfer market, and relocation to the UK is a natural next step
in Athora's strategic journey."
Bruce Hemphill, Chair of the Athora Holding Ltd. Board of Directors, added:
"Establishing our headquarters in the UK, following the PIC acquisition, is a
significant milestone for Athora and reinforces our long-term growth
ambitions. The Board remains committed to strong governance, disciplined
execution, and effective oversight on behalf of our shareholders."
Dom Veney, Interim Chief Executive Officer of PIC, said:
"Joining Athora is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for PIC. With
Athora's support we can invest more in the UK economy, provide innovative
solutions for more trustees and sponsors, and maintain the very high levels of
customer service for which PIC is known. Athora's commitment is validation of
our strategy, people, and purpose."
A separate presentation for Athora bondholders is provided on Athora's website
with further financial pro-forma impacts as a result of the PIC acquisition
(and relocation of Athora's headquarters) as well as an overview of the
expected impact on Athora's listed debt instruments. Athora's capital
management approach will continue to prioritise robust capitalisation, strong
liquidity positions and suitable business remittances.
For information
Athora
· Credit Investor Relations: Mike Guille mike.guille@athora.com
· Media Relations: Ben Adams ben.adams@athora.com
(mailto:ben.adams@athora.com)
· Hawthorn for Athora: athora@hawthornadvisors.com
PIC
· Corporate Affairs: Jeremy Apfel Apfel@pensioncorporation.com
About Athora
Athora is a leading European savings and retirement services group. We
concentrate on the large and attractive traditional life and pensions market,
with an ambition to become a leading provider of guaranteed savings and
pensions products in Europe. We serve the needs of individual and corporate
customers who continue to demand products offering safety of returns. Athora's
principal subsidiaries are: Pension Insurance Corporation Group Limited
(London, UK), Athora Netherlands N.V. (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Athora Belgium
S.A. (Brussels, Belgium), Athora Lebensversicherung AG (Wiesbaden, Germany),
Athora Italia S.p.A (Genoa and Milan, Italy) and Athora Life Re Ltd.
(Bermuda). Pro forma for the PICG acquisition, as of 31 December 2025, Athora
had AuMA of €139 billion, c.2,100 employees and approx. 3.1 million
customers. For more information, please visit: www.athora.com
(http://www.athora.com) .
About PIC
The purpose of PIC is to pay the pensions of its current and future
policyholders. PIC provides secure retirement incomes through comprehensive
risk management and excellence in asset and liability management, as well as
exceptional customer service. At full year 2025, PIC had insured 438,000
pension scheme members and had £54.8 billion in financial investments,
accumulated through the provision of tailored pension insurance buyouts and
buy-ins to the trustees and sponsors of UK defined benefit pension schemes. At
31 December 2025, PIC had made total pension payments of £19.3 billion to its
policyholders and had invested more than £15 billion in the UK economy,
creating considerable social value. Clients include FTSE 100 companies,
multinationals and the public sector. PIC is authorised by the Prudential
Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and
Prudential Regulation Authority (FRN 454345). For further information please
visit www.pensioncorporation.com (https://www.pensioncorporation.com/)
Disclaimer
This press release contains inside information within the meaning of Article
7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (Regulation 596/2014). For the purposes
of Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 and Article 2 of Commission
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1055, this announcement is made by Ben
Adams, Director of External Communications for Athora Holding Limited.
Certain information contained herein may be "forward-looking" in nature. Due
to various risks and uncertainties, actual events or results or actual
performance may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such
forward-looking information. As such, undue reliance should not be placed on
such information. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of
terminology including, but not limited to, "may," "will," "should," "expect,"
"anticipate," "target," "project," "estimate," "intend," "continue" or
"believe" or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable
terminology.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
. END ACQAKOBQCBKKKNB
Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved