Chesnara CEO: 79% jump in capital generation fuels acquisition ambitions

Chesnara PLC (LSE:CSN) CEO Steve Murray spoke with Proactive about first-half performance, including a 79% rise in operating capital generation to £96 million, progress integrating Chesnara Life and the outlook for further acquisitions. Murray said the strong capital generation reflected positive underlying performance, management actions like balance-sheet optimisation and reinsurance, and a significant contribution from Chesnara Life, formerly HSBC Life UK, which joined the group at the end of January. On integration, Murray said Chesnara has announced a combined UK leadership team and begun transferring relevant staff to strategic outsourcing partner SS&C, remaining on track to migrate HSBC data onto the SS&C platform by year-end. He also discussed the planned acquisition of Scottish Widows Europe, expected to add around €250 million of lifetime cash generation — roughly €100 million within the first five years — while establishing a Luxembourg platform Chesnara sees as a springboard for further consolidation. Turning to M&A more broadly, Murray highlighted the group's 185% solvency coverage ratio and an active acquisition pipeline: "That gives us a lot of flexibility in terms of our ability to go after acquisitions." The interview also covers the 152% rise in new business contribution to £12 million, driven by demand for UK onshore bonds, plus positive client cash flows in Sweden and demand for insurance and investment products in the Netherlands. Visit Proactive’s YouTube channel for more interviews and market updates. Don’t forget to give the video a like, subscribe to the channel and enable notifications for future content. Read Proactive's Editorial Policy here: https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/pages/editorialPolicy #Chesnara #ChesnaraPLC #SteveMurray #Insurance #LifeInsurance #InsuranceSector #MergersAndAcquisitions #MandA #Acquisitions #ChesnaraLife #HSBCLife #ScottishWidows #ScottishWidowsEurope #CapitalGeneration #UKInvesting #InvestmentNews #InvestorNews #FinancialMarkets #ProactiveInvestors #Proactive