Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) used its 2026 annual general meeting to highlight progress on its strategy to become a “simpler, growing, and better-connected” business, while also marking major leadership changes at the board and executive level.
Chair Sir John Kingman, presiding over his final AGM before stepping down, said 2025 was a year in which the company demonstrated delivery against the strategy presented to investors in 2024. He said Legal & General has divested GBP 1.5 billion of non-strategic assets since establishing its Corporate Investments Unit in June 2024 and has continued to sharpen its focus on core businesses.
The meeting also marked the group’s 190th anniversary. Company Secretary Geoffrey Timms, who is also stepping down, said the occasion was “a particularly meaningful one” after nearly 20 years as company secretary. Timms will be succeeded by Maria Alvarez-Scott as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary.
Financial performance and shareholder returns
Chief Executive Antonio said Legal & General delivered “robust financial performance” in 2025. He said core operating profit rose 6% to GBP 1.6 billion, while core operating earnings per share grew 9%, at the top end of the company’s 6% to 9% target range. The group’s store of future profits increased to GBP 13.3 billion.
Antonio also pointed to a strong capital position, citing a 2025 pro forma Solvency II ratio of 210% after the disposal of the U.S. protection business to Meiji Yasuda and the related share buyback.
The company said it plans to return more than GBP 5 billion to shareholders between 2025 and 2027 through dividends and buybacks. In March, Legal & General announced a GBP 1.2 billion share buyback, described by Antonio as the largest in the company’s 190-year history. Combined with 2% dividend per share growth, planned returns to shareholders over the next year total GBP 2.4 billion.
Strategic disposals and partnerships
Kingman highlighted the GBP 1.8 billion transaction with Meiji Yasuda Life, announced in February 2025, under which Meiji Yasuda acquired Legal & General’s U.S. protection business and entered a long-term strategic partnership with the company to strengthen its position in U.S. pension risk transfer, or PRT.
Antonio said the U.S. protection business was sold for GBP 1.8 billion, representing 18 times the annual cash the business generated and 30 times earnings. He said the major disposals are now complete, with about GBP 500 million of assets remaining in the Corporate Investments Unit after GBP 1.5 billion of disposals, including the sale of housebuilder Cala.
The company also discussed its partnership with Blackstone. In response to a shareholder question about private credit risk, Antonio said Legal & General approves exposures asset by asset using its own credit underwriting standards. He said the arrangement with Blackstone applies to a small portion of the balance sheet and is intended to help source investment-grade assets in the U.S.
Business unit performance
Legal & General reported GBP 11.8 billion of global PRT business in 2025. Kingman said this included the largest PRT transaction announced in the U.K. that year, a GBP 4.6 billion buy-in for the Ford Pension Schemes, securing benefits for more than 35,000 members. Antonio said the company had a 27% U.K. PRT market share and completed transactions with Ford, BP and NatWest.
In asset management, Legal & General ended 2025 with GBP 1.2 trillion in assets under management. Antonio said 44% of assets are outside the U.K., with the U.S., continental Europe and Asia identified as key international markets. Private markets assets grew 32% to GBP 75 billion, compared with the group’s target of GBP 85 billion by 2028.
The retail business also expanded. Antonio said annuities new business totaled GBP 1.8 billion, while workplace defined contribution assets grew 21% to GBP 114 billion. The company won several new workplace schemes with GBP 3.7 billion of assets expected to be onboarded in 2026.
Leadership changes
Kingman confirmed that Scott Wheway will succeed him as chair following the meeting. Wheway previously served as chair of Scottish Widows, Centrica and AXA UK.
Jeff Davies stepped down as Group Chief Financial Officer in December 2025, and Andrew Kail has taken over the role. Kail previously led Institutional Retirement and the former Retail Retirement division at Legal & General. Gareth Mee has succeeded Kail as CEO of Institutional Retirement, while Emma Holden has joined as Chief People Officer. Kingman also said Chief Risk Officer Chris Knight will shortly leave after 17 years with the company.
Kingman said he was pleased that most leadership appointments came from within the company, calling it evidence of “the depth of talent across the group and effective succession planning.”
Shareholder questions focus on capital, governance and valuation
Shareholders questioned management on the Solvency II ratio, asset write-downs, the dividend, the matching adjustment, buybacks and the company’s share price. Kail said the solvency position remains “very strong” and that the ratio moves with factors including interest rates and capital deployed into growth areas such as PRT.
Asked about private market asset write-downs, Kail said he had taken “a very long and hard look” at valuations after becoming CFO and that management felt it was appropriate to make adjustments after market movements, particularly in rates.
On dividends, Kingman said the board’s “most fundamental responsibility” is meeting obligations to customers over many years, while also considering the dividend’s importance to shareholders and its sustainability.
Kingman also addressed concerns about virtual-only AGMs, whistleblowing procedures, biodiversity commitments and human rights considerations in investment stewardship. He said Legal & General values direct engagement with shareholders and that stewardship voting decisions are made independently on behalf of clients.
About Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN)
Legal & General Group Plc provides various insurance products and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates in Legal & General Retirement Institutional (LGRI), Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), Legal & General Capital (LGC), and Retail segments. The LGRI segment offers annuity contracts with guaranteed income for a specified time; and longevity insurance products. The LGIM segment offers index fund management; active fixed income funds and liquidity funds; active equity management; solution and liability driven investment; multi-asset funds; corporate pension scheme solutions; and real assets.
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