Proceeds from the sale will pay for the group's purchase of Lombard International, and other corporate purposes, Utmost said.

Utmost Group, a provider of insurance-based wealth solutions, is selling – subject to regulatory blessing – its bulk purchase annuity (BPA) business to JAB Insurance. The size of the financial transaction wasn’t disclosed.

The sale is being made so that Utmost can concentrate on its wealth business, it said in a statement yesterday. Since completing its purchase of Lombard International earlier this year, Utmost has been more involved in the wealth area.

Lombard is a player in what is called private placement life insurance (PPLI) a wealth management solutions channel that this news service has covered for more than a decade (see this article from 2011). 

The sale of Utmost Life and Pensions encompasses the entire business, which represents more than £5 billion ($6.71 billion) in assets and 175 employees.

ULP is Utmost’s UK-focused life and pensions business which entered the BPA market in late 2024. 

The ULP business, which has completed 11 full buy-ins totalling £311 million to boost its business, intends to continue these “ambitious” growth plans under JAB Insurance, Utmost said in a statement yesterday. 

“This decision supports Utmost’s long-term growth ambitions and its commitment to harnessing opportunities in the attractive global wealth market, which continues to be driven by strong structural growth drivers and rising demand for multijurisdictional solutions,” the firm said. 

Proceeds from the sale will be used to repay the outstanding bank debt issued to finance the acquisition of Lombard International. The remaining funds will be used for general corporate purposes.

“The sale of Utmost Life and Pensions marks an important milestone in our long-term strategy. This divestment will enable us to sharpen our focus on our market-leading wealth solutions business,” Paul Thompson, Utmost Group CEO, said. “We are committed to capitalising on the strong structural growth drivers within the wealth market and responding to the increasing demand for our multi-jurisdictional solutions.”

Utmost Group, which has more than £100 billion of assets under administration, is supervised by the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority.