Pensions giant Standard Life has posted a loss of £179m for the first six months of the year, 15% higher than the £156m loss posted in the first half of 2025.
The company said the majority of the loss reflects £123m of planned investment spend, with £56m of other one-off items.
It said adjusted profit climbed 25% to £563m, up from £461m in 2025 while assets under management climbed 5% in the period from £317bn at the end of 2025 to £333bn at the end of June.
It said momentum in its pension and savings business continues, supported by strong customer engagement, improving satisfaction, high client retention and innovative solutions that help customers navigate evolving financial needs
It reported 36% adjusted operating profit growth in its capital-light fee-based business to £244m, up from £179m. It said there was a 10% growth in average AUA to £217bn.
In its retirement solutions business it reported strong performances across pension risk transfer and individual annuities, where it said it combines customer-focused propositions with disciplined participation in competitive markets
It said there was 5% growth in its capital-utilising spread-based business to £466m and 6% growth in average AUA to £42.0bn.
Andy Briggs, group chief executive officer, said: “Standard Life continues to demonstrate exciting momentum against our vision to be the UK’s leading retirement savings and income business.
“We remain on track to deliver our end-2026 financial targets, while our profitable growth and strong cash generation is increasing our financial flexibility.
“The £2bn acquisition of Aegon UK and our recently announced UK PRT partnership will further strengthen our capabilities and customer offering.”
Standard Life revealed in April it would snap up the investment platform Aegon UK for £2bn. It said the deal will help create a major player in the UK’s retirement savings space with nearly 16m customers and £480bn in assets under administration combined.
Today the firm said the deal is on track for completion around the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
Last month it revealed it has partnered with CVC, Prudential Financial, Goldman Sachs and MS&AD to expand its pension risk transfer business. The partnership has a combined initial capital commitment of up to £2bn.
The business said the move will allow it to offer trustees and sponsors of pension schemes an alternative to secure the pensions of their UK members by combining its brand with the specialist private markets capabilities and capital resources of its partners.