Chesnara PLC chief executive Steve Murray joined Proactice this week to discuss the company’s transformational growth following two major acquisitions.
In this Q&A, he outlines integration progress, future M&A ambitions, and the resilience of Chesnara’s business model. He also highlights the key metrics investors should watch over the coming year.
Proactive: I'm joined by Steve Murray, the CEO of Chesnara PLC. Steve, very good to speak with you. You've described 2025 as a transformational year. What's fundamentally changed in Chesnara’s business model after these two major acquisitions?
Steve Murray: Yeah nice speaking to you this morning, Stephen. So yeah, I mean, the two acquisitions, they do a couple of things scale wise for the group. So there's a further material increase in the size of the balance sheet. Owned funds... we are expecting that to increase materially. Between the two acquisitions... we expect that to be around £1 billion worth of lifetime cash flows... which support the dividend.
Proactive: The HSBC Life UK deals again significantly boost your scale Steve. But integration risk always a concern. What are the biggest execution challenges still ahead?
Steve Murray: Yes we are full force into that at the moment... risks include data quality and system mapping... Over 200 colleagues have now joined... We've got a designated team... and external expertise... plus a new deal with SS&C... we're confident we can deliver the migration this year.
Proactive: Your solvency ratio is still well above target... How aggressively are you prepared to be on further M&A?
Steve Murray: We’re focused on integration first... but M&A processes take 9–12 months... we expect operational capacity in 2027... our solvency and liquidity mean we could do another roughly £100 million transaction...
Proactive: Markets remain volatile... how resilient is your cash generation model?
Steve Murray: We've got a very resilient balance sheet and prudent asset mix... surplus capital cushions market impacts... “there’s nothing that worries us... from a macro perspective.”
Proactive: What should investors watch most closely over the next 12 months?
Steve Murray: Operating capital generation, solvency strength, and growth in own funds... plus continued M&A activity...
Proactive: Thank you very much.