Royal London announces plan to set up EU base outside the UK

Company aims to remove uncertainty triggered by Brexit with new subsidiary

Royal London announces plan to set up EU base outside the UK

Insurance News

By Louie Bacani

One more major British insurer has revealed its Brexit contingency plan following the recent announcements of AIG and Lloyd’s that they will establish new outposts within the EU.
 
Royal London, the largest mutual life and pension company in the UK, will turn its business in Ireland into an EU subsidiary to maintain access to the single market and continue offering products across the trading bloc.
 
“We have a business in the Republic of Ireland. We will be domiciling a subsidiary in Ireland so we can continue to operate,” Royal London CEO Phil Loney said in an interview with Reuters.

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In a statement reported by City A.M., Royal London also said that it is in the “early stages of discussions” with the Central Bank of Ireland.
 
“Royal London has a successful and growing business in Ireland which we have operated under EU passporting rules to date,” the company said.
 
“By domiciling the business in Ireland we can remove much of the uncertainty triggered by the Brexit negotiations and continue to grow our business.”
 
The company also announced on Thursday that its pre-tax profit in 2016 reached £282 million, up by 16% from £244 million in the previous year. New business profit amounted to £223 million, an increase of 63%.
 
Loney said the figures showed “strong growth” despite operating in a low interest rate environment, which tends to depress the profitability of insurance products.
 
“These results reflect the continued excellent progress of Royal London in 2016, performing well despite the backdrop of a turbulent year in politics and markets. It is clear from the sustained track record of growth that our strategy is working,” he said in a statement.
 
 
Related stories:
Royal London sees funds under management top £100 billion
 

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