According to Canada Life’s latest results, this is a decrease from over £1bn in equity release sales in 2022.
The later life lending market had a turbulent year due to rising rates leading to a dampening of activity, with Equity Release Council (ERC) figures showing that overall later life lending came to £2.6bn in 2023, a fall from £6.2bn in 2022.
Data from UK Finance also echo the above, with Q4 2023 figures showing that total lending to older borrowers decreased 42 per cent to £4.1bn.
Canada Life continued that its total sales came to £4.3bn, a record, which included record sales of individual annuities of £1.2bn. The latter is more than double the 2022 figures.
The company reported £621m in bulk purchase annuities along with £2.2bn in wealth and asset management sales, which includes offshore bonds.
Canada Life’s base earnings came to £229m, with assets under management (AUM) coming to £26bn.
The company also confirmed that the sale of its individual protection book had been completed during the period.
Lindsey Rix-Broom, CEO of Canada Life UK, said that the company had “delivered a strong performance in challenging conditions, which demonstrates how we, as a well-diversified business, can weather the ever-changing headwinds”.
She continued: “Our single-minded focus on delivering great customer outcomes means we are well-placed to support advisers and their clients in a period of economic and geopolitical uncertainty.”
Rix-Broom said that, looking ahead, it would “continue to invest in modernising our systems, processes and introducing new digital technology that will further benefit customers and advisers.”
