Lloyds Banking Group, the parent of Scottish Widows, in October 2017 announced a deal wherein it will buy Zurich UK’s workplace pensions and savings business in Q1 of 2018.

The combined deal would place Scottish Widows as the UK’s third largest workplace savings provider.

Zurich will get exclusive distribution rights for group life protection to certain corporate clients of Lloyds’ commercial banking business, while broadening Scottish Widows’ offering in the large pension scheme sector with master trust and group self-invested personal pension solutions.

With £15bn in assets under administration, and around 500, 000 customers, the acquisition enhances Scottish Widows’ already strong holdings of more than £124bn of funds, £35bn of which is workplace pensions business. The acquisition will include 200 Zurich employees based in Cheltenham, who will transfer to Lloyds.

The acquisition is being hailed as ‘a clear signal of Lloyds Banking Group’s commitment to the financial planning and retirement segment’ by Antonio Lorenzo, chief executive at Scottish Widows.