Paternoster, an insurer specialising in guaranteeing companies' retirement bills, offered quotes on £4.9bn (€7bn) of pension buyouts in September, more than double its monthly pipeline at the start of the year, as both companies and trustees are attracted by new providers in the market that can execute cheaper deals.

Paternoster said its own book of business rose by 21% to £406m in the three months to the end of September. It started operations in June 2006 after securing equity finance worth £500m from Deutsche Bank and Eton Park International, a UK hedge fund group.