Rothesay Life and Prudential have announced that they will appeal a recent court ruling that blocks the transfer of £12 billion in annuities.
In August, the High Court declined to sanction the transfer of a portfolio of annuities from Prudential to Rothesay Life following complaints from policyholders. The deal would have been the largest transaction of its type, covering 400,000 policyholders according to a Reuters report.
“Our appeal is on the basis that the judgement in the High Court contains material errors of law and should therefore be reconsidered,” Rothesay said in a statement to Reuters, adding that the appeal would be unlikely to be heard for several months.
The ruling and subsequent appeal has not deterred Prudential from pushing ahead with plans to demerge its UK business, M&G. According to the Financial Times, the demerger, which was first announced in March last year, will take still place on October 21 – 10 days before the scheduled Brexit date.
