Scottish Friendly, the Glasgow-based financial services group, is set to double in size with its planned takeover of Marine & General Mutual.
Scotland’s largest financial mutual is in the closing stages of securing the takeover of Marine & General Mutual (M&GM), the oldest active registered company in the UK.
The two mutual organisations expect the transaction to be completed in the second quarter of this year, subject to approval from members, regulators and the High Court.
The deal will be the largest takeover by Scottish Friendly to date and will double its assets to around £2 billion.
Marine & General Mutual has a long history in financial services and has been trading as a mutual society since 1852.
Scottish Friendly CEO Fiona McBain said: “This announcement is a tangible outcome of our strategy to diversify and grow the Scottish Friendly Group.
“The overall efficiency of Scottish Friendly’s business has resulted in our ability to competitively tender to take over existing financial services companies and run them more effectively and more efficiently.
“We are particularly proud of having secured the opportunity to double in size.
“The takeover of M&GM will give us additional economies of scale that can drive further efficiencies and increased value to all of our policyholders, including those transferring from M&GM.”
M&GM chief executive David Gulland said: “As we explained to our policyholders and members in our strategic report for 2013, we have been seeking to secure the long-term future of our customers through a transfer to another organisation.
“This involved a thorough process considering a number of potential operations, and we were delighted to select Scottish Friendly. We were particularly impressed by the group’s efficiency, customer focus and experience in this field.
“We welcome the fact that all M&GM policyholders will become members of Scottish Friendly as part of this deal.”