Stephen McGee

Total sales increased from £42m in 2020 to £46.9m in 2021. Sales of Scottish Friendly’s own-brand investment ISAs increased by 17% to £18.4m and sales of its whole of life, saving and investment and protection products via partners improved by 8% to £28.5m.

Assets under management rose from £5.3bn to £5.4bn and the number of Scottish Friendly members[2] increased by 31,000 to 776,000.

The latest results are the strongest in Scottish Friendly’s long 160-year history as well as being the first following the passing of former chief executive, Jim Galbraith in April last year.

Stephen McGee, who was appointed as non-executive director in September 2021, took over leadership of the business earlier this month following Martin Pringle’s role as acting chief executive. Scottish Friendly currently administers over one million policies across more than 350 product lines.

Stephen McGee, Scottish Friendly’s chief executive, said: “It has been another incredible year for Scottish Friendly given current circumstances and with so much market and economic uncertainty.

“These results are testament to Jim and his legacy. The success of this last year would not have been possible without him or Martin, who has done a brilliant job in leading the business since Jim’s passing.

“We know that Scottish Friendly has a bright future, but there are still plenty of short-term challenges ahead.

“We are emerging from the worst of the pandemic, but the UK and the rest of Europe faces fresh uncertainty with a rising cost of living crisis.

“This will impact global markets and businesses, however with a 160-year history, Scottish Friendly is well equipped to achieve our objective to provide long-term sustainable growth in value for our members during turbulent periods.

“With the team we have in place, I have no doubt that the business will continue to go from strength to strength, and we are confident we can become the leading mutual insurance organisation in the UK, showcasing the very best of what mutuality has to offer.”

David Huntley, chair of Scottish Friendly, commented: “These results are a fantastic achievement, and I am extremely proud of everyone’s efforts at Scottish Friendly in what has been another challenging year.

“The outlook for the next 12 months is difficult to predict but stubbornly high inflation and rising interest rates are going to be a feature.

“However, record sales last year show that Scottish Friendly remains in a strong position, and we look forward to continuing our commitment to our customers, colleagues and the wider community.”