AEGON UK was awarded Deal of the Year 2007 by Life & Pensions magazine for the £92 million value-in-force securitisation executed via Barclays Capital in January 2007.

The securitisation of future profits on life and pensions policies in Guardian non-profit funds enabled AEGON UK to recycle capital invested in a closed book of business to support growth in new business elsewhere in the group.

The transaction will improve key financial measures for AEGON UK such as Return on Equity and Return on Embedded Value.

The securitisation displayed many innovations including being the first to place the insurance risks completely outside of the insurance industry. AEGON was praised by insurance sector analysts for the transaction and its impact on capital efficiency.

Commenting on the award, AEGON UK finance director Mark Laidlaw said

“We were very pleased with the securitisation and delighted that it has been recognised as bringing innovation to the market with this award. It reflects the vision and fresh thinking of our finance team and the insight and expertise that Barclays Capital brought to bear.”

Andy Pennington, of AEGON UK’s Embedded Value, Capital & Risk Management team collected the award at a ceremony in London.

This is the third award-winning European VIF transaction that Barclays Capital has completed, following Gracechurch Life Finance plc and Box Hill Life Finance plc.

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Notes to editors

• AEGON has assets under administration of £45.2 billion and employs around 4,000 staff. AEGON is part of the AEGON Group, which is one of the world's largest listed insurers and has assets around Euro 359bn (£250 billion).