The vendor Phoenix Equity Partners claims to have made a return of 6.7 times its original investment.

Caspar Berendsen, partner at Cinven, says: ‘This segment of the financial services market [annuities] is set to grow rapidly driven by some very powerful secular trends such as the switch to defined contribution pension schemes, changing demographics and encouraging regulatory developments.’

Cinven says it will invest significantly in the business’s staff, brand, infrastructure and distribution channels.

The deal is subject to approval by the UK Financial Services Authority.

In related news, Cinven has also agreed to acquire German truck supplier JOST for an undisclosed sum. JOST employs 2,000 people in 20 countries and its sales for last year were around €445 million.