Legal & General is competing for pension risk transfer deals worth a total of £10 billion, including business on the books of rival insurers unwilling to set aside new capital to comply with Solvency II regulations which came into force at the start of 2016.

According to a person familiar with L&G, certain insurers, particularly at the smaller end, have decided to cut the exposure of their books of business to pension risks. Books of pension business are being quietly offered to third-party insurers through the secondary market. New pension risk transfer deals also continue to become available as sponsors seek to escape final-salary obligations.