Friends Life, the UK insurer acquired by rival Aviva in April, has arranged a £2.4 billion pensions swap deal with brewer Heineken – its first step into a market worth more than £20 billion last year.

The transaction, a longevity swap, covers Heineken against the risk that 19,000 members of one of its main UK pension funds, the Scottish & Newcastle Pension Plan, will live longer than expected.