Great-West Lifeco Inc. (GWL) announced June 21 that its U.K. subsidiary, Canada Life Limited, has agreed to sell a block of 155,000 heritage policies with assets and liabilities of £2.7 billion (C$4.7 billion) to Scottish Friendly.

The policies, which have been largely closed to new business since 2003, include individual life savings policies, individual pension savings policies and individual protection policies. The transfer of the policies to Scottish Friendly is expected to occur in late 2019 and is not expected to have a material impact on Canada Life's earnings or ongoing U.K. business activities, says the company.

An excellent move for both organizations

"This is an excellent move for both organizations and for customers," said Doug Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Canada Life U.K. "Our priority is ensuring that our transferring customers receive the highest standard of care both during this transition period, and beyond. Scottish Friendly has a great reputation in this area which gives us confidence that they will be in good hands."

"This transaction enables Canada Life to concentrate on growing our business in the U.K., including the development of a full range of products in the U.K. retirement income market, building on our recent acquisition of Retirement Advantage," said Paul Mahon, President and CEO, Great-West Lifeco.

As part of the agreement, Canada Life Investments will continue to manage a substantial portion of the transferring unit-linked assets, says GWL. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.