Alongside £107m of international pension risk transfer (PRT) deals, the insurer revealed total UK bulk annuity transactions of £2,040m, as well as the £925m APP agreed with its own scheme last month.
The total bulk annuity volumes are down by 35% compared to last year, when H1 saw £3.2bn of buy-ins and buyouts agreed – although the drop is just 7% when the APP is included.
Of the deals, 53% were concluded with existing L&G Investment Management (LGIM) clients.
The figures represent what L&G admitted was a “relatively subdued” market in the first half – although it expects a rebound with PRT deals across the market to total around £20bn to £25bn by the end of the year.
The insurer said it was in “exclusive negotiations” for around £2bn of PRT deals in the second half of the year.
L&G has confirmed 13 deals so far this year, including a two-part £794m buy-in with Tui’s pension scheme, and a £420m buy-in with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (UK) Staff Benefits Scheme.
Across the market, just £5.1bn of bulk annuities have been confirmed so far for H1, compared to £12.6bn in the same period last year – although many insurers are yet to publish their half-year results.
In its PRT division, L&G delivered operating profit of £525m, marginally down from £585m last year, with positive factors including new business volumes and positive mortality experience.
Meanwhile, the wider business saw a 14% rise in its operating profit to £1.1bn, and a surge in profit after tax from £290m to £1,065m, as compared to the same period last year.
Assets under management (AUM) with LGIM increased by 7% to £1.3trn, while its UK institutional business delivered external net flows of £9bn, compared to £8bn last year.
Total defined contribution (DC) AUM soared by 30% to £125.5bn, with the workplace pensions members now numbering 4.2 million. The provider’s master trust provision now has £15.1bn of AUM.
Group chief executive Nigel Wilson commented said the “hard work and dedication” of colleagues had delivered the “strong set” of results, with expectations of double-digit growth in operating profit by the end of the year.
He added: “We’re continuing to make investments that are economically, environmentally and socially valuable, in line with our long-term commitment to delivering inclusive capitalism and supporting the Building Back Better and Levelling Up agenda.”
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