Underlying operating profit was down 39 per cent to £305m (2024: £504m) at Just Group, driven by lower new business margins on lower sales.
Retirement income sales were also down 18 per cent in the year to £4.3bn (2024: £5.3bn), however with growth in the “Guaranteed Income for Life” annuities programme partially offsetting a fall in DB sales.
David Richardson, chief executive at Just Group, ascribed the fall in profits to “increasing competition in the DB de-risking market.”
Just Group also claimed that the DB pension risk transfer market is expected to rebound in 2026, citing LCP predictions of £40-55bn of volume following publication of the Pension Schemes Bill in June 2025, and a stronger pipeline of £1bn+ transactions.
Just Group’s acquisition by Brookfield Wealth Solutions, in a £2.4 billion cash offer accepted in July, is still expected to complete in the first half of this year.
Richardson says: “The proposed combination with Brookfield Wealth Solutions will be a great outcome for customers, shareholders and our colleagues. It reflects the strength of the Just platform and the long-term value of the strategy we have developed. We look forward to building on our successful growth strategy and strong culture, as we enter this exciting next phase for Just.”
Mark Godson, Just Group’s chief financial officer, also noted that in January 2026, the Government published the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, aimed at phasing out the current leasehold system in England and Wales, and that Just had been “closely monitoring” the new government’s agenda and the possible impact of this on the Group’s £154m portfolio of residential ground rents.
