Scottish Friendly, a leading financial mutual, has announced a record-breaking annual sales figure of £51.1m APE for 2023, up from £47.7m the previous year.
This marks the highest new business sales in the company’s 162-year history, despite facing significant market and economic challenges.
The mutual, which is customer-owned and focuses on distributing profits to eligible customers, also saw its assets under management rise slightly from £4.5bn in 2022 to £4.6bn in 2023.
Membership increased by 24,000 to 838,000, with the company now administering almost two million policies.
Stephen McGee, chief executive of Scottish Friendly, commented on the results: “It has been another positive year for Scottish Friendly, especially given the wider context of economic and market uncertainty.
“Despite that, we have seen the highest sales growth in our 162-year history and a notable increase in Scottish Friendly members too.”
The report highlighted strong protection sales contributing significantly to the financial uplift. However, it noted a decline in sales of Scottish Friendly’s own-brand investment ISAs and JISAs in 2023, as a higher interest rate environment led more people to opt for cash savings over stock and share investments.
Alan Rankine, chief financial officer, added: “These figures underline our robust financial fundamentals and strong operating performance, and that, combined with a customer-centric strategy and vision, we are well-positioned to continue to grow.”
The company has also committed to further investments in business operations, technology, security, infrastructure, and talent, as part of a refreshed strategy aimed at continuing to deliver for its customers in the long term.
