Scottish Friendly closes in on takeover of Marine & General

Fiona McBain said the takeover of M&GM would give Scottish Friendly "additional economies of scale"

Financial services group Scottish Friendly is set to double in size after announcing it is close to securing the takeover of Marine & General Mutual.

The two mutuals expect the transaction to complete 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 about £2bn.

Scottish Friendly said M&GM was the UK's oldest active registered company.

It has traded as a mutual society since 1852.

'Economies of scale'

Glasgow-based Scottish Friendly's chief executive, 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."