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Registered and Head Office
Building Four, West Strand Business Park, 
West Strand Road, Preston, Lancashire  PR1 8UY
T +44 (0)1772 972050  F +44 (0)1772 482244 
www.chesnara.co.uk
Designed by The Chase
—
Annual Report & Accounts  
2014 
 
 
 
 
Cautionary statement
This document may contain forward-looking 
statements with respect to certain of the plans 
and current expectations relating to the future 
financial condition, business performance  
and results of Chesnara plc.  By their nature, 
all forward-looking statements involve risk 
and uncertainty because they relate to future 
events and circumstances that are beyond the 
control of Chesnara plc including, amongst 
other things, UK domestic, Swedish domestic, 
Dutch domestic and global economic and 
business conditions, market-related risks such 
as fluctuations in interest rates, currency 
exchange rates, inflation, deflation, the impact 
of competition, changes in customer 
preferences, delays in implementing proposals, 
the timing, impact and other uncertainties of 
future acquisitions or other combinations within 
relevant industries, the policies and actions of 
regulatory authorities, the impact of tax or 
other legislation and other regulations in the 
jurisdictions in which Chesnara plc and its 
subsidiaries operate. As a result, Chesnara plc’s 
actual future condition, business performance 
and results may differ materially from the 
plans, goals and expectations expressed or 
implied in these forward-looking statements.
SECTION A
OVERVIEW
04	 An	Introduction
06	
2014	Highlights
07	 Chairman’s	Statement
SECTION B
STRATEGIC REPORT
Strategic	Objectives,	Culture	and	Values
The	Chesnara	Business
12	 Our	Vision	&	Strategy
13	
16	
17	 Business	Model
18	 Business	Review
Financial	Review
28	
40	
Financial	Management
44	 Risk	Management
47	
Solvency	II
48	 Corporate	and	Social	Responsibility
SECTION C
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
52	 Governance	Overview	from	the	Chairman
53	 Board	of	Directors
54	 Board	Profile
55	 Corporate	Governance	Report
60	 Directors’	Remuneration	Report
80	 Audit	&	Risk	Committee	Report
83	 Directors’	Report
85	 Directors’	Responsibilities	Statement
SECTION D
IFRS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Independent	Auditor’s	Report	to	the	Members	of	Chesnara	plc
88	
91	 Consolidated	Statement	of	Comprehensive	Income
92	 Consolidated	Balance	Sheet
93	 Company	Balance	Sheet
94	 Consolidated	Statement	of	Cash	Flows
95	 Company	Statement	of	Cash	Flows
96	 Consolidated	Statement	of	Changes	in	Equity
97	 Company	Statement	of	Changes	in	Equity
98	 Notes	to	the	Consolidated	Financial	Statements
SECTION E
EEV SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
176	 Directors’	Responsibilities	Statement
177	
Independent	Auditor’s	Report
178	 Summarised	EEV	Consolidated	Income	Statement
179	 Summarised	EEV	Consolidated	Balance	Sheet		
180	 Notes	to	the	EEV	Basis	Supplementary	Information
SECTION F
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
196	 Financial	calendar
196	 Key	contacts
197	 Notice	of	Annual	General	Meeting
201	 Explanatory	notes	to	the	notice	of	Annual	General	Meeting
204	 Glossary
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY
As explained in Note 7 to the IFRS financial statements, the 
principal reporting segments of the Group are:
CA 
S&P 
PL 
 which comprises the original business of Countrywide 
Assured plc, the Group’s original UK operating subsidiary, 
and of City of Westminster Assurance Company 
Limited, which was acquired by the Group in 2005 and 
the long-term business of which was transferred to 
Countrywide Assured plc during 2006;
 which was acquired on 20 December 2010. This business 
was transferred from Save & Prosper Insurance Limited 
and Save & Prosper Pensions Limited to Countrywide 
Assured plc on 31 December 2011 under the provisions of 
Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;
 which was purchased on 28 November 2013 from  
Direct Line Insurance Group plc. Protection Life Company 
Limited is included within the Group’s UK business.  
On 31 December 2014 the long-term business of PL was 
transferred into CA plc under Part VII of the Financial 
Services and Markets Act 2000; and
Movestic   which was purchased on 23 July 2009 and comprises the 
Group’s Swedish business, Movestic Livförsäkring AB 
and its subsidiary and associated companies.
In this Report & Accounts:
i. 
ii.	
 The	CA,	S&P	and	PL	segments	may	also	be	collectively	referred	
to	as	the	‘UK	Business’;
	The	Movestic	segment	may	also	be	referred	to	as	the		
‘Swedish	Business’;
iii.	 		‘CA plc’	refers	to	the	legal	entity	Countrywide	Assured	plc,	which	
includes	the	long-term	business	of	CA,	CWA,	S&P and	PL;
iv. 	 		‘CWA’	refers	to	City	of	Westminster	Assurance	Company	Limited	
or	to	its	long-term	business	funds	transferred	to	Countrywide	
Assured	plc;
v.	
		‘S&P’	may	also	refer	collectively	to	Save	&	Prosper	Insurance 	
Limited	and	Save	&	Prosper	Pensions	Limited,	as	the	context	
implies.	Where	it	is	necessary	to	distinguish	reference	to	Save		
&	Prosper	Insurance	Limited	and	Save	&	Prosper	Pensions	
Limited,	or	to	the	businesses	subsisting	in	those	companies	prior	
to	the	transfer	referred	to	above,	they	are	designated	‘SPI’	and	
‘SPP’	respectively;	
vi.	 		‘PL’	refers	to	the	long-term	business	that	was,	prior	to	the 		
Part	VII	transfer	into	CA	plc	on	31	December	2014,	reported 		
in	Protection	Life	Company	Limited;
vii.   ‘	PL Ltd’	refers	to	the	legal	entity	Protection	Life	Company	
Limited;	and
viii.  ‘	Movestic’	may	also	refer	to	Movestic	Livförsäkring	AB,	as	the	
context	implies.
ix.  ‘Acquisition of Waard Group’ 	refers	to	the	purchase	of	the		
	 Waard	Group,	based	in	the	Netherlands.	At	the	date	of		
signing	this	Annual	Report	&	Accounts	the	acquisition	remained		
subject	to	Dutch	regulatory	approval.
02
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
	
	
SECTION A
 OVERVIEW
IN THIS SECTION
04	 An	Introduction
06	 2014	Highlights
07	 Chairman’s	Statement
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
03
SECTION A OVERVIEW
AN INTRODUCTION
Chesnara plc is a Life Assurance and 
Pensions company consolidator. It 
currently has books of business in the 
UK and Sweden. It expects to add  
a third territory in 2015 with the 
acquisition of a Dutch Group which is 
due to complete in the near future. 
The Dutch business mainly consists of 
term-life policies, is closed to new 
business, and has c74,000 policies. The 
UK business is predominantly closed  
to new business whereas our Swedish 
subsidiary continues to run a  
profitable new business operation.
Who we are
Chesnara	plc,	formed	in	2004,	is	listed	on	the	London 	
Stock	Exchange.	The	Group	initially	consisted	of 	
Countrywide	Assured,	a	closed	Life	and	Pensions	book 	
demerged	from	Countrywide	plc,	a	large	estate	agency 	
group.	Since	incorporation	the	Group	has	grown 	
through	the	acquisition	of	three	predominantly	closed 	
UK	businesses,	CWA,	S&P	and	PL	plus	Movestic,	an 	
open	Swedish	Life	and	Pensions	business.
What we do
–	 We	administer	c.860,000	Life	and	Pension	policies	(c.380,000	
in	the	UK	and	c.480,000	in	Sweden).
c.860,000 Life and Pension policies.
–	 We	manage	£4.8	billion	of	funds	(£3.0	billion	in	the	UK	and 	
£1.8	billion	in	Sweden).
£4.8bn of total assets under management.
–	 We	operate	to	high	regulatory	standards,	ensure	we	offer	high	
service	levels	and	aim	to	maximise	returns	to	policyholders.
–	We	provide	value	to	shareholders	primarily	by	way	of	an 	
established	and	attractive	dividend	strategy	but	also	by	value	
enhancement	through	acquisitions	and	the	writing	of 	
profitable	new	business	in	Sweden.
Chesnara	is	a	responsible	and	profitable	company	engaged 	
in	the	management	of	Life	and	Pension	policies	in	the		
UK	and	Sweden.	The	Group	remains	committed	to	delivering	
competitive	returns	to	both	its	shareholders	and	policyholders,	
and	continues	to	focus	on:
–	 the	core	business	of	maximising	value	from	the	in-force	life 	
and	pensions	book.	
–	value	enhancement	through	the	writing	of	profitable	new 	
business	in	Sweden.	
–	 making	further	life	and	pensions	acquisitions	where	they	meet	
stringent	assessment	criteria.	
How we operate
–	 We	maintain	a	professional	corporate	governance	team	
responsible	for	ensuring	regulatory	compliance,	risk	and 	
capital	management,	and	oversight	of	both	our	Swedish	
subsidiary	and	our	predominantly	outsourced	UK	business.
–	 We	maintain	a	robust	regulatory,	compliance	and	risk	
management	regime.
–	 The	governance	team	has	significant	experience	and	a	proven	
track	record	in	acquiring	and	successfully	integrating	Life	and	
Pension	businesses.	The	team	engages	professional	partners	
and	advisors	to	support	the	acquisition	model,	as	required.
–	 Acquisitions	are	funded	by	a	combination	of	cash,	debt	and 	
equity	as	appropriate.	We	have	tried	and	tested	support 	
from	debt	providers	and	from	our	established	and	supportive	
shareholder	base.
–	 We	maintain	strong	solvency	levels.
How we create value
Policyholder
Effective	customer	service	operations	together	with	
competitive	fund	performance,	whilst	always	adopting	exacting	
standards	with	regard	to	all	regulatory	matters	ensures	
policyholders	receive	good	returns	in	line	with	policy,	industry	
and	market	expectations.
Shareholder
Efficient	management	of	the	policy	base	and	good	capital 	
management	practices	means	that	surpluses	emerge 		
from	the	in-force	books	of	business.	These	surpluses	enable	
dividend	transfers	to	be	made	from	the	subsidiaries 		
to	Chesnara,	which	fund	the	attractive	dividend	strategy.
In	addition,	growth	from	both	the	proven	acquisition	model 	
and	from	writing	profitable	new	business	in	Sweden	has		
had	a	positive	impact	on	the	embedded	value	of	the	business	
(as	shown	below).
GROUP EEV DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
The	Embedded	Value	of	the	Group	has	grown	significantly	since	incorporation.	The	reported	growth	is	net	of	£170m	of	cumulative	
dividend	payments.	The	chart	illustrates	Embedded	Value	growth	and	the	impact	of	the	acquisition	strategy.		
Values	quoted	are	as	at	31	December	of	the	relevant	year.
‘04	
£126M
Chesnara	lists	on	the	
London	Stock	Exchange,	
following	its	acquisition	
of	CA	plc.
‘05	
£176M
Chesnara	acquired		
CWA	from	Irish	Life	and	
Permanent	plc.	EEV		
gain	of	£30.3m	arising	on	
acquisition	and	£22.0m	
new	share	capital	issued.
‘06	
£189M
‘07	
£187M
‘08	
£183M
The	long-term	
business	of	CWA	was	
transferred	to	CA	plc.
Steady	operating		
profit	on	covered	
business	to	support	
dividend	payment.
Steady	operating	profit	
on	covered	business	
supports	dividend	
payment	in	year.
‘09	
£263M
Chesnara	acquired	Movestic	
Liv,	an	open	Swedish	Life	
and	Pensions	business,	
resulting	in	an	EEV	gain	of	
£54.2m	on	acquisition.
04
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
 OVERVIEW SECTION A
The Chesnara investment proposition is 
largely dependent upon cash emerging 
from the in-force books of business at levels 
sufficient to fund the dividend strategy, 
support future acquisitions, and provide 
adequate surplus to protect against the 
potential for earnings volatility in the future.
The gross cash generated in 2014 exceeds 
the full year dividend by 88%, continuing the 
recent trend of strong dividend coverage.
Capital management actions including  
Part VII transfers and regulator approved 
capital extractions ensure the cash 
generated is available for distribution to 
the fullest extent possible.
In addition to the attractive dividend yield, 
growth is delivered through Swedish new 
business and value adding acquisitions. As  
a result Chesnara has consistently provided 
a greater TSR than the FTSE 350 higher 
yield index.
GROSS CASH GENERATION 
£42.6M IN 2014
(2013:	£49.7m).
£49.7M
£42.6M
£33.1M
£34.0M
£18.8M
‘10
‘11
‘12
‘13
‘14
Note 1:	Cash	generation	is	defined	on	page	34.	
The	figures	exclude	any	impact	from	acquisition 	
funding	arrangements	including	cash	utilised	to		
directly	fund	acquisitions.
TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURN
5 year TSR of 145%
2014 TSR of 11%
PROVEN ATTRACTIVE 
DIVIDEND HISTORY
£13.1M
£13.7M
£10.2M
£15.8M
£16.0M
£16.2M
£18.1M
£19.4M
£19.9M
£20.5M
£22.5M
‘04
‘05
‘06
‘07
‘08
‘09
‘10
‘11
‘12
‘13
‘14
‘10	
£355M
Chesnara	acquired	SPI		
and	its	subsidiary,	SPP,	
from	JPMorgan	and	
Movestic	acquired	the	
business	of	Aspis	Liv,		
a	small	Swedish	life	and	
health	insurer.	These	
purchases	resulted	in		
a	combined	gain	on	
acquisition	of	£41.0m.	
£25.7m	new	share	capital	
issued	in	the	year.
‘11	
£295M
The	long-term	business		
of	SPI	and	SPP	were	
transferred	to	CA	plc	
under	the	provisions	of	
Part	VII	of	FSMA.	Falls		
in	both	equity	markets		
and	bond	yields	result		
in	a	reduction	in	EEV		
in	the	year.
‘12	
£311M
SPI	and	SPP	were	
de-authorised	from	
conducting	activities	
regulated	under	the	
provisions	of	FSMA	2000.	
Investment	market	factors	
support	the	increase	in	
EEV	in	the	year.	
‘13	
£376M
Chesnara	acquired	
Protection	Life	(formerly	
Direct	Line	Life	Insurance	
Company	Limited)	from	
Direct	Line	Group	plc,		
with	an	EEV	gain	on	
acquisition	of	£12.3m.	
Strong	investment	
markets	drive	EEV	growth.
‘14	
£417M
The	long-term	business		
of	Protection	Life	was	
transferred	into	CA	plc	
under	the	provisions		
of	Part	VII	of	FSMA.	
£34.5m	of	new	equity	
raised	for	the	pending	
acquisition	of	the		
Waard	Group.	
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
05
2014 HIGHLIGHTS
FINANCIAL
£28.8M
IFRS PRE-TAX PROFIT
IFRS	pre-tax	profit	for	the	year	ended		
31	December	2014	of	£28.8m		
(year	ended	31	December	2013:	£60.6m).
Financial Review Page 30
£42.6M
GROSS CASH GENERATION
Gross	cash	generated	in	the	year	of	£42.6m		
(year	ended	31	December	2013:	£49.7m).
Cash Generation Page 34 
£417.2M
EEV INCREASE OF £40.8M TO £417.2M
Increase	in	EEV	from	£376.4m	at	31	December		
2013	to	£417.2m	at	31	December	2014,	stated		
after	dividend	distributions	of	£20.7m,	and	new		
equity	of	£34.5m	in	the	year.
Financial Review Page 37
£44.2M
EEV EARNINGS AFTER TAX
EEV	earnings	net	of	tax	of	£44.2m		
(year	ended	31	December	2013:	£82.7m,
before	modelling	adjustments).
Financial Review Page 35
Throughout	the	Annual	Report	&	
Accounts	the	following	symbols	are	
used	to	help	distinguish	between		
the	various	financial	and	non-financial	
measures	reported:
	 IFRS
	 Cash	generation
	 EEV	
	 EEV	earnings
	 Solvency
		 Dividend/Total	Shareholder	Return
	 Part	VII
	 	Operational	performance
	 Compliance
	 	New	business	market	share
	 	Acquisitions
06
£8.9M
MOVESTIC EEV NEW BUSINESS CONTRIBUTION
Movestic	has	generated	a	new	business	contribution	of	£8.9m 		
in	the	year	(year	ended	31	December	2013:	£7.2m),	representing 		
an	increase	of	23.6%	year	on	year.
Financial Review Page 35
284%
GROUP SOLVENCY
Strong	Insurance	Group	Directive	solvency	cover	of	284%	(31	December	2013:	
194%),	stated	after	the	impact	of	£34.5m	of	new	equity	raised	during	the	year.	
Financial Management Page 25
2.9%
FULL YEAR DIVIDEND INCREASE
Total	dividends	for	the	year	increased	by	2.9%	to	18.40p	per 		
share	(6.42p	interim	and	11.98p	proposed	final).	This 	compares		
with	17.88p	per	share	in	2013	(6.25p	interim	and	11.63p	final).
OPER ATIONAL AND STR ATEGIC
ANNOUNCEMENT TO ACQUIRE  
THE ENTIRE SHARE CAPITAL  
OF THE WAARD GROUP
During	December	2014	Chesnara	announced	its	intention	to
purchase	the	entire	share	capital	of	the	Waard	Group	which	will		
add	further	value	to	the	Group.
£34.5M OF EQUITY RAISED TO FUND  
THE WAARD GROUP ACQUISITION
During	December	2014	the	Group	issued	£34.5m	of	new	equity 		
share	capital	(stated	after	issue	costs)	to	support	the	acquisition	of 		
the	Waard	Group,	due	to	complete	in	2015.	This	has	contributed 		
to	an	increase	in	Group	solvency	at	31	December	2014.	Waard	Group 	
numbers	will	be	reported	once	the	acquisition	has	completed.
PART VII TRANSFER OF PROTECTION  
LIFE INTO CA PLC
In	line	with	our	plans	the	insurance	business	of	Protection	Life
was	successfully	transferred	into	Countrywide	Assured	plc	on		
31	December	2014	under	Part	VII	of	FSMA	2000.
EXTENSION OF CORE OUTSOURCE 
CONTRACT WITH HCL
We	have	extended	our	core	outsource	contract	with	HCL	which	ensures
continuity	of	service	and	certainty	of	cost	over	a	further	10	year	period.
MANAGEMENT ACTIONS TAKEN  
TO ENHANCE THE PROFITABILITY  
OF NEW BUSINESS
Revised	funding	structures,	including	“white-labelling”	initiatives,
delivered	during	the	year,	contributing	to	a	17%	increase	in		
new	business	margins.
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION A OVERVIEW	
	
	
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
 OVERVIEW SECTION A
During 2014 there have been significant developments 
to the Chesnara Group. In particular we have 
announced the acquisition of the Waard Group in 
the Netherlands. Whilst the deal offers attractive 
returns in terms of both cash generation potential 
and embedded value growth, perhaps the most 
significant aspect is the opportunity we see to repeat 
the ongoing success of the UK consolidation model  
in a new territory. As always the ongoing development 
of the Group’s acquisition strategy will never be at  
the expense of ensuring we continue to maximise the 
value emerging from our existing business and  
doing so in a responsible manner. In light of this, I am 
particularly pleased to report continued strong 
financial and regulatory performance in the year across 
all our businesses.
Peter	Mason,	Chairman
Notes
	1.		Throughout	the	Chairman’s	Statement,	Business	Review	and	Financial	Review	sections,	all	results	quoted	at	a	business	segment	level	exclude	the		
impact	of	consolidation	adjustments.	These	consolidation	adjustments	are	analysed	by	business	segment	on	page	33.
	2.		Net	cash	generation	in	the	year	is	defined	as	the	net	amount	of	the	following	items:
	 i.		Gross	cash	generation,	defined	as:
a.		the	change	in	the	excess	of	actual	regulatory	capital	resources	over	target	capital	resources	in	respect	of	the	CA,	S&P	and	PL	operating	segments;	
b.		less	capital	contributions	made	by	the	Group	to	the	Movestic	operating	segment;
c.		less	cash	utilised	by	Parent	Company	operations.
	ii.		Plus	the	cash	impact	of	one-off	management	actions	coupled	with	movements	in	the	restrictions	of	policyholder 	funds	to	shareholder	funds.
As	such,	the	cash	generation	KPIs	defined	above	do	not	align	to	the	Cash	Flow	Statement	as	included	in	the	IFRS	Financial	Statements.
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
07
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT  (CONTINUED)
I	start	my	Chairman’s	statement	by	reviewing	how	Chesnara	has	delivered	against	its	three	core	strategic	objectives	and	how	it	has	done	so	
remaining	true	to	its	well	established	culture	and	values	of	treating	customers	fairly	and	adopting	a	robust	approach	to	regulatory	compliance.
1 Maximise	value	from	
the	in-force	book
2
Enhance	value	
through	new	business
3
Acquire	life	and	
pension	businesses
£71.1m of net cash generation 
including the benefits of the 
Protection Life Part VII transfer
Increasing new business profits  
in Sweden have significantly added 
to its franchise value.
Reference	&	page	number:
Business	review	page	19
Reference	&	page	number:
Business	review	pages	22	to	23
Acquisition of the Waard Group  
in the Netherlands.	Note	1
Reference	&	page	number:
Business	review	page	24
Note	1:	Subject	to	Dutch		
regulatory	approval.
Chesnara	culture	and	values
Improved Group solvency of 284% (31 December 2013: 194%), stated after the impact of £34.5m of new 
equity raised in the year. We expect an element of the increase since last year to reverse on completion 
of the Waard Group acquisition in 2015. On-going sound regulatory record.
Reference	&	page	number:	Business	review	page	25
Maximise value from the in-force book
Despite	generally	adverse	investment	market	conditions, 	
in	particular	a	relatively	sharp	reduction	in	the	yield	curve, 	
the	UK	in-force	book	has	continued	to	provide	a	reliable 	
and	resilient	source	of	cash.	The	variable	element	of	our 	
financial	model,	namely	S&P,	has	been	adversely	affected 	
by	a	reduction	in	the	yield	curve,	as	would	be	expected, 	
such	that	the	increased	exposure	to	policy	guarantees	has 	
resulted	in	a	cash	strain.	Reassuringly	the	more	stable 	
element	of	the	financial	model,	consisting	of	CA,	CWA	and 	
Protection	Life,	has	generated	levels	of	surplus	broadly	in 	
line	with	expectations.	Also,	during	the	year	there	have	
been	two	key	developments	which	will	have	a	positive	impact	
in	terms	of	the	emergence	of	value	from	the	existing	book	in	
the	future.	We	have	extended	our	core	outsource	contract	
with	HCL	which	ensures	continuity	of	service	and	certainty	
of	cost	over	a	further	10	year	period.	Also,	we	have		
migrated	the	actuarial	services	that	HCL	used	to	provide	to 	
Towers	Watson.	As	a	more	specialist 	actuarial	operation,		
Towers	Watson	will	offer	a	more	flexible	solution 		
better	suited	to	respond	to	future	reporting 	and	capital	
management	requirements.
The	embedded	value	of	Movestic	has	increased	during	the 	
year.	However,	this	increase	has	been	dampened	by	the 	
depreciation	of	the	Swedish	Krona	against	Sterling	during	2014.
Cash available for distribution  
2014: £71.1m* 2013: £36.7m
	*including	Part	VII	impact	of	£27.4m
Enhance value through new business
New	business	profits	in	Movestic	have	continued	to	increase	
during	the	year.	At	the	2014	level	of	new	business	profit	of	
£8.9m,	I	believe	that,	although	we	primarily	retain	a	closed 	
book	consolidation	focus,	the	franchise	value	of	our 		
Swedish	new	business	operation	has	become	a	significant 	
aspect	to	the	valuation	of	the	Chesnara	Group.
Movestic new business contribution in 2014
£8.9m 2013: £7.2m
Acquiring Life and Pension Businesses
Before	I	comment	on	the	recently	announced	acquisition 		
of	the	Waard	Group	in	the	Netherlands	I	would	like	to	provide	
an	update	on	the	status	of	the	acquisition	of	Protection 	
Life.	The	business	has	contributed	significantly	to	the	cash 	
generation	of	the	Group.	IFRS	pre-tax	profits	of	£5.5m 		
are	broadly	in	line	with	expectations.	In	addition,	the	Part 	
VII	transfer	was	completed	in	December	and	the	resulting 	
capital	efficiencies	will	enable	a	one-off	cash	transfer	of 	
£27.4m	to	Chesnara	plc.
During	December	we	announced	our	intention	to	acquire	the	
Waard	Group	in	the	Netherlands.	The	move	into	a	third 	
geographical	market	received	strong	investor	support.	The 	
positive	equity	raise	process	was	consistent	with	the	level	
of	potential	we	see	in	the	acquisition	in	its	own	right	but	also	
the	strategic	opportunity	arising	from	entering	a	new	territory	
in	which	closed	book	consolidation	has	yet	to	reach	levels	
historically	seen	in	the	UK.
Our	market	intelligence	suggests	significant	market	
consolidation	potential	in	the	Netherlands	and	we	are	pleased	
to	be	in	a	position	to	apply	our	acquisition	and	consolidation	
expertise,	together	with	Waard	Group	management’s	local 	
knowledge,	in	the	Dutch	market.
08
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION A OVERVIEWInvestment proposition
The	strong	performance	referred	to	on	the	previous	page 		
has	resulted	in	continued	strong	returns	to	shareholders. 		
The	results	have	enabled	us	to	continue	our	attractive 	
dividend	strategy	whilst	also	ensuring	we	retain	sufficient	
cash	resources	to	support	our	growth	strategy.	The	effective	
balance	between	dividend	payments	and	the	retention	of	
capital	to	invest	in	acquisitions	has	been	a	key	reason	why 	
Chesnara	has	out	performed	the	FTSE	350	higher	yield	index.
Chesnara 
FTSE 350 higher 
yield index
2014  5 year
11% 
1% 
145%
47%
Chesnara culture and values
Delivery	of	our	objectives	is	underpinned	by	our	well 	
established	culture	and	values	which	are	based	on	an	ethos 	
of	responsible	management.	All	our	business	decisions	are	
made	so	as	to	ensure	policyholders	are	treated	fairly	and	both	
policyholders	and	shareholders	are	not	exposed	to	levels 		
of	risk	beyond	our	risk	appetite.	More	information	about	the	
Group’s	culture	and	values	is	included	within	the	Strategic	
Report	on	pages	25	to	27.
Before	I	move	on	to	consider	the	outlook	for	the	Group	I	would	
like	to	take	the	opportunity	to	comment	on	the	recent	change	
in	CEO.	Graham	Kettleborough	had	been	CEO	for	10	years	from	
the	initial	listing	of	Chesnara	plc.	He	has	been	at	the	heart		
of	the	Chesnara	success	story	to	date	and	I	would	like	to	thank	
him	for	his	significant	contribution	to	the	Group.	During	that	
period	shareholders,	many	of	whom	have	been	loyal	investors	
from	day	one,	have	received	extremely	competitive	total	
returns.	As	importantly	however,	shareholder	returns	have	never	
been	delivered	to	the	detriment	of	ensuring	policyholders	are	
treated	fairly	and	the	Group	has	continued	to	be	highly	compliant	
in	all	regulatory	matters.
It	is	easy	to	talk	about	matters	such	as	culture	and	values	but	in	
reality	it	is	only	possible	to	maintain	standards	if	the	senior	
decision	makers	truly	share	the	same	cultural	values.	With	this	
in	mind	a	key	priority	in	appointing	Graham’s	replacement		
was	to	ensure	any	new	CEO	had	a	strong	cultural	fit	and	shared	
values.	I	strongly	believe	that	following	a	rigorous	recruitment	
process,	Chesnara	has	managed	to	achieve	this	key	objective	
of	cultural	continuity.
John	Deane	was	appointed	as	Group	CEO	on	1	January	2015	
and	I	am	confident	he	will	build	upon	all	that	is	good	about	
Chesnara	and	also	drive	it	forward	to	ensure	we	take	maximum	
advantage	of	the	opportunities	the	strategic	move	into	the	
Netherlands	will	present.
In	addition	to	providing	momentum	to	our	new	venture	in	the	
Netherlands	John	has	demonstrated	from	a	very	early 	
stage	that	sound	governance	remains	at	the	heart	of	any 	
long	term	success.	He	has	developed	a	revised 	
Governance	model	that	adopts	best	practice,	implemented	
in	a	pragmatic	fashion.	This	will	ensure	any	future 	
development	of	the	Chesnara	Group	continues	to	be	built 	
upon	solid	regulatory,	risk	appetite	and	culturally 	
responsible	foundations.
Regulatory
About	the	time	of	writing	my	statement	in	last	year’s	Report		
&	Accounts	the	UK	Government	had	just	announced 	
proposed	changes	to	the	annuity	market.	Shortly	after,	the	
FCA	announced	its	intention	to	undertake	a	full	review	of	
legacy	closed	book	operations.	Our	early	assessment	of	the	
potential	impact	of	these	two	issues	was	that	Chesnara	
would	not	be	materially	affected.	We	have	worked	to	support	
the	FCA	legacy	review	and	our	assessment	of	these	two	
issues	remains	unchanged.	That	said,	the	fact	is	that	until 	
the	FCA	concludes	on	the	scope	of	the	legacy	review	a 	
degree	of	uncertainty	of	impact	remains	and	management	
will	manage	the	risk	through	the	general	governance	and 	
risk	management	framework.
Outlook
The	acquisition	of	the	Waard	Group	creates	a	three	territory	
business	model.	This	gives	Chesnara	wider	reach,	optionality	
and	flexibility	thereby	improving	the	outlook	for	the 	
continuation	of	our	successful	acquisition	strategy.	In	addition	
to	the	benefits	of	a	wider	target	market,	my	confidence	in	
our	acquisition	strategy	is	underpinned	by	three	key	factors:
  i)  Strong	financial	foundations	
We	have	the	financial	strength	to	fund	future	acquisitions.		
In	particular	we	are	modestly	geared,	have	healthy 		
solvency	margins	and	have	own	cash	available.	We	also 	
continue	to	receive	strong	support	from	shareholders		
and	lending	institutions.
  ii)  Good	regulatory	track	record	
We	continue	our	good	regulatory	track	record	in	the	UK	and 	
Sweden	and	there	are	positive	signs	and	a	strong	intent	to	
build	similarly	good	relations	with	regulators	in	the	Netherlands.	
Strong	regulatory	focus	will	mean	regulators	see	Chesnara	
as	a	responsible	buyer	who	will	ensure	the	interests	of 	
policyholders	are	protected.
 iii)		Expertise	and	experience	
Our	recent	track	record	demonstrates	that	the	management	
team	has	the	required	drive	and	capabilities	to	deliver	all	
aspects	of	successful	acquisitions.	The	management	team	
of	the	Waard	Group	will	further	enhance	this	capability		
into	the	Dutch	market.	We	demonstrate	diligent	assessment	
of	the	risks	and	benefits	of	any	opportunity,	we	have 		
the	commercial	experience	to	effectively	price	for	risk	and 	
importantly	we	have	the	technical	and	operational	expertise		
to	integrate	acquired	businesses	into	the	Chesnara	Group, 	
thereby	ensuring	risks	are	managed	and	the	benefits	emerge	
as	required.
In	addition	to	my	positive	assessment	of	the	acquisition	
strategy,	the	robustness	of	the	UK	in-force	business	and	the 	
continued	growth	in	the	Movestic	new	business	results		
both	contribute	to	my	overall	conclusion	that	the	Chesnara 	
Group	is	well	positioned	to	continue	to	provide	value	to	our	
shareholders	and	policyholders.
Peter	Mason
Chairman
30	March	2015
09
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014 OVERVIEW SECTION A 
10
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
SECTION B
 STRATEGIC
 REPORT
IN THIS SECTION
12	 Our	Vision	&	Strategy
13	 Strategic	Objectives,	Culture	and	Values
16	 The	Chesnara	Business
17	 Business	Model
18	 Business	Review
28	 Financial	Review
40	 Financial	Management
44	 Risk	Management
47	 Solvency	II
48	 Corporate	and	Social	Responsibility
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
11
OUR VISION & STRATEGY
MISSION
VISION
STR ATEGIC
OBJECTIVES
Our mission is to deliver value for shareholders, while maximising 
returns to policyholders. Underpinning everything we do is a desire 
to maintain regulatory and legal compliance. Meeting these aims  
is achieved through attracting and retaining highly talented people who 
not only bring expertise and quality thinking into our business  
and industry, but also have a passion for improving outcomes for our 
customers and shareholders. All members of the Chesnara team 
share a common value in recognising their responsibility to shareholders 
and policyholders.
To be recognised as a responsible and profitable company engaged  
in the management of life and pensions books in the UK and Western 
Europe. The Group remains committed to delivering competitive 
returns to both its shareholders and policyholders, and continues 
to focus on:  
–  the core business of maximising value from the in-force life and 
pensions book;
–  value enhancement through the writing of profitable new business in 
Sweden; and
–  making further life and pensions acquisitions where they meet stringent 
assessment criteria.
While we focus on delivering value to shareholders primarily through 
dividend streams arising from strong cash generation as the UK life 
and pensions books run off, we also consider the acquisition of open 
businesses where there is clear value enhancement and where the 
scale is such that our core proposition of being principally a closed book 
consolidator and manager does not become unbalanced.
At Chesnara the strategic objectives, which support the fulfilment of 
our mission and the realisation of our vision, are embedded in  
day-to-day business operations and underpin Management decisions.  
At the core of the business is the recognition by the Board  
and Management Team of their responsibilities to policyholders and 
shareholders, so that the values and principles of management 
wholly align with strategic objectives. This value of responsibility is  
at the heart of the Chesnara business model. Our core strategic 
objectives are explained and evidenced on the following pages.
12
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORTSTRATEGIC OBJECTIVES, CULTURE AND VALUES
Introduction
Chesnara is engaged in the ownership of life assurance and 
ancillary company assets in the UK and Western Europe.  
The Group’s aim is to deliver a reliable and attractive income 
stream to its shareholders. The aim is to extend this and/or 
take the opportunity to increase shareholder value through 
the acquisition of financial services companies and/or the 
development of existing Group businesses.
Chesnara has a clear aim to unlock value for our shareholders 
through the acquisition, restructuring and development of 
financial services companies domiciled in Western Europe. 
This aim is captured in our three core strategic objectives:
1  Maximise value from the in-force book
2   Enhance value through new business in selected markets
3  Acquire life and pensions businesses
In endeavouring to achieve the strategic objectives, Chesnara 
will always be mindful of the need to preserve a strong 
responsible culture and set of common values across the 
Group. The culture and values underpin the delivery of our 
core strategic objectives. It should be self-evident in the way 
the Group conducts business and more specifically, how  
it treats customers, employees, investors and regulators.
1 Maximise value from 
the in-force book
2
Enhance value  
through new business
3
Acquire life and 
pension businesses
Chesnara culture and values
General business
conduct
Treatment of 
customers
Treatment of 
employees
Treatment of 
investors
Relationship with 
regulators
The following pages describe our strategic objectives and core culture and values in more detail.
The Movestic funds are managed by a carefully selected range 
of fund managers who have strong performance records  
in the relevant sector. Performance is monitored very closely 
and regular meetings are held with fund managers. Should 
under-performance continue then an alternative manager is 
sourced and appointed to manage the relevant assets. 
Where a new market niche or specific opportunity is identified 
new funds may also be added.
We adopt a business operating model which ensures unit 
expenses remain appropriate for the scale of the in-force book.
UK operations are predominantly outsourced, with contract 
charging structures that ensure a significant element of the 
cost base varies in line with the run-off of the business.
Acquisitions are integrated into the Chesnara Group in a 
manner to ensure optimum operational and financial synergies.
Risks associated with this strategic objective
–  Sustained adverse investment market conditions  
challenge our ability to manage financial risks inherent  
in the in-force portfolio.
–  Despite the effective cost management model, in the absence 
of further acquisitions or management action, there remains  
a risk that unit costs will increase in the long-term.
–  A number of factors including economic recession, adverse 
investment performance and a deterioration in customer 
servicing standards could lead to an increase in policy attrition.
–  Regulatory change can affect the value emerging from  
the in-force books.
1
MAXIMISE VALUE FROM THE  
IN-FORCE BOOKS
Why is this of strategic importance?
Chesnara is primarily a “closed book” operation and as such 
generating surplus and cash from the existing in-force books 
is at the heart of its investment proposition.
How do we deliver this strategic objective?
We proactively manage continuing financial exposures. 
Significant financial exposures in life and pensions portfolios 
typically arise from onerous policy options and guarantees, 
and compensation claims for past misselling of products. 
For example the S&P segment brings exposure to the impact 
of investment market performance due to a portion of the 
policies containing options and guarantees to policyholders. 
Furthermore, the Group continues to have exposure to 
market weakness by way of the impact on policyholders’ 
linked funds, from which surplus is generated. We seek to 
minimise this exposure by regular review of investment asset 
holdings and by adjusting investment manager guidelines 
where appropriate and within the boundaries of our obligations 
to policyholders.
We operate in a manner that aims to ensure that policy 
attrition is as low as possible, as this is a key determinant of 
our future profitability and of the level and longevity of the 
emergence of surplus, which underpins our dividend-paying 
capacity. As such we continue to maintain a focus on the 
retention of policies where it is in the interest of customers 
to continue with their arrangements.
We continue to manage investment performance so as to 
provide a competitive level of return to our policyholders. 
The CA funds are primarily managed by Schroder Investment 
Management Limited; the CWA funds are managed by  
Irish Life Investment Managers Limited and the S&P funds 
are managed by JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited. 
We meet formally with fund managers on a quarterly basis  
to assess past performance and future strategy.
13
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B   
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES, CULTURE AND VALUES (CONTINUED)
2
ENHANCE VALUE THROUGH NEW 
BUSINESS IN SELECTED MARKETS
3
ACQUIRE LIFE AND PENSIONS  
BUSINESSES
Why is this of strategic importance?
Why is this of strategic importance?
– The Chesnara business model primarily focuses on “closed 
book” consolidation. However, where acquisitions offer the 
potential to write new business with adequate return on capital 
we will continue to invest in the new business operations  
so as to maximise value for the Group.
–  As with any business, it is important that we use our capital 
efficiently to provide optimum returns to shareholders.
–  As a primarily “closed book” operation, further acquisitions 
can maintain and increase the Group’s cash flow and 
operational economies of scale.
– Maintaining a flexible position regarding the willingness to 
remain open to new business will potentially increase the 
number of acquisition targets and indeed our attractiveness 
to such targets.
How do we deliver this strategic objective?
Ultimately we rely on acquisition opportunities being available 
in our target market of the UK and Western Europe.
How do we deliver this strategic objective?
The only part of the Chesnara Group writing material levels of 
new business is Movestic, our Swedish business. Movestic 
has a new business operation that delivers a positive new 
business contribution. There are detailed business plans  
in place that aim to increase new business profits through  
a combination of new product launches and improvements  
to operational effectiveness. Local and Group management 
continually assess Movestic’s performance to ensure being 
open to new business continues to enhance value.
We actively engage with various investment advisers to ensure 
we are aware of acquisition opportunities.
We leverage our proven track record in the consolidation 
market. Past experience suggests we maintain a high degree 
of credibility with regulators, policyholders, lenders and 
shareholders. All prior acquisitions have been delivered with 
no adverse impact in terms of treating customers fairly, 
regulatory standing or our reputation in the life and pensions 
consolidation market.
Risks associated with this strategic objective
– New business volumes fall below levels required to ensure 
We will only pursue opportunities which meet very stringent 
assessment criteria.
sufficient return on the acquisition cost base.
– Product margins fall to unsustainable levels due to factors 
including; market price pressures, reduced investment growth, 
increased policy lapse rates and increasing maintenance  
unit costs.
– Regulatory change may impact the profitability of writing 
new business.
Risks associated with this strategic objective
– If Chesnara makes no further acquisitions there will be a 
potential strain on the per policy unit costs of the existing 
business, with the potential impact on dividend sustainability.
– Any departure from the current, stringent acquisition 
assessment criteria and due diligence procedures could result 
in an acquisition that, under certain stress scenarios, adversely 
impacts the financial strength of the Group.
–  Regulatory demands can act as a barrier to delivering  
this objective.
14
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORTCHESNARA CULTURE AND VALUES
Why is this of strategic importance? 
Continuing to maintain a strong responsible culture is 
imperative in delivering the three core strategic objectives  
of the Group. Not doing so could compromise the ability to 
deliver this strategy.
The culture and values should be self-evident in the way the 
Group conducts business and more specifically, how it treats 
customers, employees, investors and regulators.
General business conduct
Chesnara embraces the UK Corporate Governance Code and 
its associated guidance and the Group will:
–  conduct business with professionalism and integrity.
–  conduct business with due care, skill and attention and in 
accordance with accepted business practices followed in the 
industries and territories within which we are operating.
Treatment of employees
Chesnara is committed to ensuring all employees across  
the Group, whether temporary or permanent, full time or 
part time, and regardless of race, disability, gender, gender 
reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, 
marriage or civil partnership, sexual orientation or age are 
treated fairly and are offered access to opportunities on  
an equitable basis. 
In support of this commitment, subsidiaries throughout  
the Group will:
– pay regard to employees and treat them fairly, including 
ensuring that they are fairly rewarded for the contribution that 
they make to the Group.
–  create an open culture where issues and concerns of 
employees can be raised.
–  maintain an appropriate whistle blowing policy.
–  not tolerate harassment, victimisation or discrimination.
–  ensure that employees are adequately trained and supported 
–  take care to organise and control our affairs responsibly and 
effectively, with adequate risk management systems.
for the roles they undertake.
–  maintain adequate financial resources.
–  observe proper standards of market conduct.
–  manage conflicts of interest fairly.
–  pay regard to corporate social and environmental 
responsibilities.
The Group operates in accordance with high legal, moral  
and ethical standards. Whenever an employee deals on 
behalf of any part of the Group with a supplier, customer, 
regulator or other third party, that employee is required to 
act in the best interests of the Group whilst maintaining 
these overall standards.
Treatment of customers
The majority of customers of the Group have not been sold 
a policy by a Group subsidiary but have been acquired by 
Chesnara following the acquisition of a subsidiary that sold 
them their policy. They have a right to expect that a Group 
subsidiary will honour these terms. On occasions these terms 
will be amended by court orders or local legislation. Guidance 
from local regulators on the application or removal of policy 
conditions will be taken into account in the treatment of our 
customers while balanced with the interests of our 
shareholders. Each subsidiary will:
Treatment of Investors
Chesnara seeks to protect the interests of its investors at all 
times by operating its business within a controlled governance 
and risk management environment. It also follows the 
fundamental principles of making fair disclosure of information 
to investors and conducting open and honest communication 
with them. 
In support of this:
–  The Board is responsible for maintaining an ongoing dialogue 
with shareholders, and regularly reviewing the shareholders’ 
communication process to ensure its effectiveness.
–  Chesnara maintains a policy of frank communication, and 
delivers information to shareholders and investors through 
various channels, including:
–  The financial reports, including interim and annual reports.
–   Annual General Meetings and other Extraordinary General 
Meetings that may be convened.
–   Making available on the Chesnara website all the disclosed 
information submitted to the London Stock Exchange, 
Chesnara’s public communications and other Chesnara 
publications.
Relationship with regulators
The Group operates in a number of jurisdictions. It will:
–  pay regard to the interests of customers and treat them fairly, 
maintaining an appropriate Treating Customers Fairly policy, 
or equivalent for each regulatory jurisdiction, and monitor the 
adherence to that policy.
–  deal with regulators in an open and co-operative way and 
disclose anything relating to the Group, Divisions or individual 
subsidiaries of which the regulators would reasonably 
expect notice.
– pay regard to the information needs of customers and 
communicate information to them in a way which is clear,  
fair and not misleading.
–  comply with the regulations for any areas of activity in which 
we operate.
15
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION BSECTION B STR ATEGIC REPORT
THE CHESNARA BUSINESS
The history of the development of 
the Chesnara Group, together with a 
description of the characteristics of 
our operating businesses, illustrates 
how we have endeavoured to achieve 
our strategic objectives and how  
we have created the platform for their 
ongoing realisation.
The successive acquisitions made by Chesnara have 
progressively increased the overall longevity of its run-off 
portfolio, while diversifying the policy base. At 31 December 
2014, the Group had 246,000 (2013: 254,000) pension 
policies and 612,000 (2013: 613,000) life policies in force.
Chesnara continues to seek to 
participate in the consolidation of life 
assurance and pensions businesses in 
the UK and Western Europe.
We primarily target acquisitions with a value of between 
£50m and £200m, although other opportunities are 
considered. All opportunities are assessed against a number 
of key criteria including size, risk (including actual or potential 
product and financial liabilities), discount to embedded  
value, capital requirements, the pattern and quality of predicted 
profit emergence and future strategic opportunities. Our 
strategic approach, however, remains that such potential 
acquisitions should not detract significantly from, and should 
contribute to, the primary aim of delivering an attractive dividend 
yield, although opportunities which present a significant  
value uplift or growth opportunity will also be evaluated.
14
History (2004 – 2014)
Chesnara announces the intention to purchase the Waard 
Group, an insurance group based in the Netherlands, for  
€67.8 million. The acquisition is to be part-funded by £34.5m 
of new equity share capital that was issued during the year 
and is awaiting regulatory approval.
The insurance business of Protection Life Company Limited 
is transferred into Countrywide Assured plc under Part VII of 
the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).
Chesnara acquired Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited 
(subsequently renamed Protection Life Company Limited) 
from Direct Line Group plc for £39.3m, funded by a mixture 
of bank debt and internal cash resources. PL is closed to 
new business, with a portfolio containing non-linked products, 
including mortgage life cover, fixed term life cover (both 
with and without critical illness cover) and over 50s life cover 
to UK customers.
SPI and SPP were de-authorised from conducting activities 
regulated under the provisions of the Financial Services and 
Markets Act 2000, thereby releasing £7.0m of solvency capital.
The long-term business funds and part of the shareholder 
funds of SPI and SPP were transferred to CA plc under the 
provisions of Part VII of FSMA, thereby realising significant 
financial and operational synergies.
Chesnara acquired SPI and its subsidiary, SPP, from JPMorgan 
Asset Management Limited for a consideration of £63.5m, 
funded by a mixture of debt and new equity capital. SPI and 
SPP are also closed UK Life and Pensions businesses 
whose portfolios predominantly comprise pensions policies 
(both unit-linked and with-profits), endowments (some 
with-profits) and protection policies.
Movestic acquired the in-force business, personnel, 
expertise and systems of Aspis Försäkrings Liv AB, a small 
Swedish life and health insurer, thereby complementing 
Movestic’s existing focus on pensions and savings contracts.
Chesnara acquired Movestic Liv, an open predominantly 
unit-linked Swedish Life and Pensions business, for £20m, 
representing a significant discount to its embedded value. 
Subsequently a new subsidiary, Movestic Kapitalförvaltning 
was established to separate out fund selection and 
management activities from Movestic Liv and to develop  
these services in the wider marketplace.
The long-term business of CWA was transferred to CA plc 
under the provisions of Part VII of the Financial Services  
and Markets Act 2000 (‘FSMA’), thereby realising significant 
financial and operational synergies.
Chesnara acquired CWA from Irish Life and Permanent plc 
for a consideration of £47.8m, funded principally by a mixture 
of debt and new equity capital. CWA is also a substantially 
closed UK Life and Pensions business. Its portfolio, which 
is also predominantly unit-linked, comprises endowments, 
protection and pensions policies.
Chesnara listed on the London Stock Exchange, following  
its acquisition of CA plc on the latter’s demerger from 
Countrywide plc, a large estate agency group. CA is a 
substantially closed UK Life and Pensions business whose 
portfolio predominantly comprises unit-linked endowment 
and protection policies.
13
12
11
10
09
06
05
04
16
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
BUSINESS MODEL
Business model
The following sets out the key operating characteristics  
of the Chesnara business:
Chesnara plc and the UK business activities are based in 
Preston, Lancashire, while Movestic is based in Stockholm 
in Sweden. Chesnara has 25 (2013: 21) full-time  
equivalent employees in its corporate governance team in  
the UK. In Sweden, the headcount is 131 (2013:123).
UK
Sweden
–  The primary focus of the business is the efficient run-off  
– The primary focus of the Swedish business is to profitably 
grow market share in the company-paid and individual 
pensions market, whilst developing further profitable business 
in other areas, in particular in the risk and health market. 
Writing new business requires funding to support the initial 
costs incurred: this is provided by way of external financial 
reinsurance or cash contributions from Chesnara. As the 
in-force business portfolio grows in scale the income 
generated by it eventually allows the business to self-fund 
and become a net generator of cash.
–  As the Movestic book is open and in a growth phase, we 
retain a broader-based management and operational team. 
Rather than outsource core functions, we believe that it is 
important that the drive and team ethic of Movestic is 
preserved as it seeks to grow profitable market share in our 
target markets. Whilst Movestic manages the selection  
of appropriate investment funds, investment decisions are 
made solely by the fund managers.
of its existing life and pensions portfolios. This gives rise to 
the emergence of surplus which supports our primary aim  
of delivering an attractive dividend yield to our shareholders. 
By the very nature of the life business assets, the surplus 
arising will deplete over time as the policies mature, expire 
or are the subject of a claim.
– We maintain a professional corporate governance team 
which is responsible for both the regulatory and operational 
requirements of the listed entity Chesnara and those of the 
UK business. Our team is intentionally small and focused in 
the interests of keeping the overall expense base tight. It 
has the capability to manage the UK business and to assess 
acquisition opportunities, and is supplemented from time  
to time by temporary resource if justified by operational or 
strategic demands.
–  The operating model of our UK business is directed towards 
maintaining shareholder value by outsourcing all support 
activities to professional specialists. This typically embraces 
policy administration, systems, accounting, actuarial and 
investment management and reduces the impact of potential 
fixed and semi-fixed cost issues which would otherwise 
occur as the income streams arising from a declining in-force 
portfolio diminish. By securing long-term contracts to support 
these activities we aim to enhance the variability of the 
expense base with the size of the in-force policy portfolio. This 
also leads to the avoidance of the full weight of systems 
development costs, as these will, where possible, be shared 
with other users of the outsourcers’ platforms.
–  Oversight of the outsourced functions is a significant part  
of the responsibility of the central governance team.  
The maintenance of service and performance standards, 
and thereby the core interests of shareholders and 
policyholders, is maintained through a strict regime of 
service level agreements and through continuous monitoring 
of performance. This is reinforced by adherence to the  
principles and practice of treating customers fairly.
17
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION BBUSINESS REVIEW
Introduction
The Business Review is structured to report on how we have 
performed against each of our three stated strategic objectives 
and our culture and values. Where relevant the review reports 
separately for our UK and Swedish operations. The review 
focuses on:
– How we have performed generally
– Key developments or challenges
– Key performance indicators
– Risks associated with each objective 
Our strategic objectives, culture and values are reassessed on an annual basis as part of the Group 
business planning process. Their continued relevance gives consideration to recent performance, 
emerging risks and future opportunity. They are assessed giving full regard to both internal and 
external influences e.g. changes to regulatory requirements.
In the 2013 Report & Accounts we reported five core strategic objectives. This year, to reflect the 
way the Group manages itself, the objectives “Maintain a strong solvency position” and “Adopt 
good regulatory practice at all times” have been re-presented to be included within our overall 
Chesnara culture and values. This better reflects the fact that these are a “given” and underpin  
the delivery of our three core strategic objectives.
The governance framework seeks to ensure that controls and procedures are in place to protect  
all stakeholders. The control environment has remained effective and robust throughout the year. 
Further details of the operation of the governance framework, and its future development, are 
included in Section C – Corporate Governance, including a governance overview from the Chairman.
1 Maximise value from 
the in-force book
2
Enhance value  
through new business
3
Acquire life and 
pension businesses
Chesnara culture and values
General business
conduct
Treatment of 
customers
Treatment of 
employees
Treatment of 
investors
Relationship with 
regulators
18
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT   
 BUSINESS REVIEW
1
 MAXIMISE VALUE FROM THE IN-FORCE BOOK  UK
STR ATEGIC REPORT SECTION B
Strong cash generation 
continues despite adverse 
investment market
conditions. Operational cash is 
complemented by exceptional cash 
emerging from the Part VII transfer  
of Protection Life.
Highlights 
–   £50.9m of gross cash generation (2013: £54.1m), 
excluding Chesnara parent company cash.
–   £27.4m exceptional cash release due to the Part VII 
transfer of PL into CA plc, contributing to net cash  
generation of £79.4m (2013: £41.1m).
–  Funds under management resilient to book run off.
–  Positive EEV development.
–  Solid fund performance.
–  Improved policy attrition levels.
Review of the year
Operational performance has been strong across the three 
key areas of focus for the in-force book, namely: management 
of the assets, regulatory compliance and ensuring we 
continue to provide a high quality service to policyholders in 
terms of administration service levels and investment return.
Our administration and asset management outsource 
partners have all performed well during the year and 
generally exceeded service level arrangements and relevant 
benchmarks. In light of this we are pleased to have extended 
our outsource contract with HCL for a further 10 year 
period. The financial terms are in line with revised expense 
assumptions recognised in 2013. We have also transferred 
the actuarial services that HCL used to provide to Towers 
Watson. As a specialist actuarial service consultancy Towers 
Watson are better placed to respond to the changes imposed 
by business development and regulatory change.
The CA plc Investment Committee has continued its oversight 
of policyholder funds through regular meetings with the 
investment managers. We continue to work with our 
managers in order to ensure the underlying investment mix 
is the most appropriate for policyholders. All our primary 
managed funds have outperformed benchmarks during 2014.
£50.9m (2013: £54.1m) of gross cash 
generated from business as usual operations
Gross cash generation during the year has remained strong  
in light of generally adverse investment market conditions. 
This is primarily due to the core product based surpluses 
being sufficiently resilient to market conditions to compensate 
for a reduction in cash emerging from the more volatile 
During the year we have progressed  
the integration of Protection Life 
which will ensure we maximise the potential 
value from the acquisition. In particular,  
the successful Part VII transfer has created  
a more capital efficient model thereby 
enabling a one-off significant cash transfer.
business segment, namely S&P. This is consistent with the 
fact that the S&P surplus is sensitive to investment market 
performance, which was generally adverse during the year.
Unit-linked funds under management
The levels of unit-linked funds under management continue to 
support the on-going level of profitability of the UK business, 
as fund-related charges are an important component of profit.
The movement in the value of unit-linked funds under 
management is a function of:
i) 
 performance of the funds across UK equities, international 
equities, property and fixed interest securities;
ii)  received and invested premiums; and
iii)   policies closed, due to surrender, transfer or claim. Good 
performance by our administration and investment 
management business partners has contributed positively 
to all three of the above factors.
Unit linked funds under management remain 
constant at £2.3bn despite book run off.
Risks associated with the strategic objective
S&P has a proportion of its product base that provides 
guaranteed returns. The probability of guarantees being of 
value to policyholders increases when the value of assets held 
to match the policy liabilities falls or when, particularly for 
those guarantees expressed as an amount of pension, bond 
yields fall. To mitigate this risk, to some extent, assets held 
by shareholders to provide security for these guarantees are 
invested in cash and long bonds. As a consequence, our results 
will be negatively affected by falls in equity and property 
values, which impact assets backing policyholder liabilities, 
and/or falls in bond yields, which impacts the cost of providing 
the guarantees were they to occur. Conversely, increasing 
markets and yields will positively affect the results. Close 
management of the portfolio backing these liabilities continues.
Increased lapses on cash generative products are also a risk 
to the delivery of this strategic objective. We manage this 
risk through:
–  Close monitoring of persistency levels.
–   Active investment management to aim to deliver 
  competitive policyholder investment returns.
–  Outsourcer service levels that ensure strong customer 
  service standards.
–  Customer retention processes.
Unit-linked funds under 
management (£m)
2,300
2,331
Fund performance
Policy attrition, based on policy count
	 CA	Pension	Managed
	 CWA	Balanced	Managed	Pension
	 S&P	Managed	Pension
	 ABI	Mixed	Inv	40%- 85%	shares
	 2014	
	 2013
8.5% 8.6%
18.2%
20.4%
13.9%
14.6%
7.0% 8.2% 6.9% 5.0%
5.5% 5.7%
7.1%
6.8%
6.9% 7.0%
2014
2013
2014
2013
CA
S&P
PL
Total	UK
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
19
  
  
 BUSINESS REVIEW
1
 MAXIMISE VALUE FROM THE IN-FORCE BOOK  SWEDEN
Following a favourable investment 
market performance, good new business 
levels and the impact of transfers 
creating a net inflow, Movestic’s funds 
under management have increased  
by 23.0% during 2014.
Highlights 
–  Strong growth in funds under management;  
increase of 23.0% during 2014.
–  Positive EEV development.
–  Stable policy attrition levels.
–  Competitive fund performance.
–  Transfer-in levels exceed transfer outflows thereby 
reversing a recent trend for net outflows.
–  Krona depreciation against Sterling in the year 
reduces reported results.
Review of the year
During 2014 continued IFA support, good service and support 
and strong investment performance led to increasing new 
sales, a large amount of transferred in business and a stabilised 
position for transferred out business. The focus to ensure 
that we continue to provide a high quality service to IFAs and 
policyholders in terms of administration service levels and 
investment return continues and independent market surveys 
show continuing positive ratings. This has resulted in the 
further growth in the Pensions and Savings business on all key 
measures including funds under management, profitability 
and policy numbers.
The Life & Health book of business remains stable and the 
portfolio continues to deliver high quality in terms of claims 
development with a gross loss ratio of 56.5% for 2014 (2013: 
50.3%). An element of the increase in loss ratio is due to 
increasing claims on health contracts. As a result we no longer 
write new health business.
The scale of the Pension and Savings in-force book in Sweden 
is such that profits emerging from it are relatively modest  
in comparison to UK equivalents. As such, the challenge is 
to increase the value of the funds under management from 
which we earn income in the form of management charges 
and fund rebates. The following matrix illustrates the factors 
that directly influence the growth of the in-force book:
NEW
BUSINESS
POLICY
ATTRITION
GROWTH
The general performance on all four factors has been 
positive resulting in strong fund growth, as illustrated by 
the chart below: 
21.9
17.8
)
n
b
(
K
E
S
14.3
2012
2013
2014
The factors are considered in more detail below:
New business
The review of the new business operation is covered in  
the “Enhance value from new business” objective review 
on page 22.
Policy attrition (fig 1 & fig 2 on the following page)
Policy attrition levels during 2014 have been relatively  
stable. The most significant measure is the level of pension 
transfers. Pension transfers out have improved. The levels 
experienced are deemed to be an inherent feature of the 
broader dynamics of the IFA market, rather than being a direct 
reflection of any Movestic specific issues. In light of this, 
the embedded value assumes no material improvement in 
persistency levels in the future. Management continually 
seeks to improve service levels, with a view to positively 
impacting the longer term persistency levels. Any positive 
impact will only be recognised if improvements are seen in 
actual attrition rates.
Despite there being only modest improvements in transfer-out 
levels, the ratios of transferred in business to transferred  
out has improved further during 2014 to an extent that transfer 
inflows now exceed outflows.
The ratio of transferred-in business  
to transferred-out business has  
reached a milestone during 2014 in  
that transfers created a net inflow  
of funds during the year.
20%
80%
40%
60%
52%
48%
FUND
PERFORMANCE
PREMIUM 
INCOME
2012
2013
2014
	 Transferred	out	
	 Transferred	in	
20
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT 
Policy attrition trend analysis (fig 1)
	 Lapses/paid-ups	(pensions	and	endowments)
	 Transfers	(Pensions)	
19.4%
16.3%
18.9%
11.5%
4.8%
4.4%
5.2%
5.0%
Q1	2014
Q2	2014
Q3	2014
Q4	2014
Policy attrition 2014 vs. 2013 (fig 2)
	 2014	
	 2013
16.6%
15.0%
4.9%
5.2%
Transfers	(Pensions)
Lapses/Paid-ups	(Pensions)
and	Endowments
Fund performance (fig 3)
	 	Outperformed	against	the	relevant	index
	 	Underperformed	against	the	relevant	index
35
35
26
39
12	months	to	
December	2014
12	months	to	
December	2013
Total premium income (SEK(m))(fig 4)
	 Total
	 Risk	&	health
	 Pensions	&	savings	–	Deposit	insurance
2013
2014
864
714
694
956
1,010 1,017
881
868
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Fund performance (fig 3)
One of Movestic’s key differentiators is its approach to 
selecting the funds available to investors. Rather than adopt 
mainstream funds, which, in Sweden, are those predominantly 
managed by subsidiaries of banks which also have life 
assurance subsidiaries, we select a limited number of funds 
from a wide range of independent fund managers.
The funds selected are, in general, actively managed funds 
with a value approach. The performance of all funds is closely 
monitored and regular contact is made with managers  
to ensure that the underlying reason for fund performance, 
whether positive or negative, is fully understood. Funds  
that do not perform favourably compared with the relevant 
index are wholly replaced if there are no acceptable strategies 
for improvement. Where applicable we continue to add further 
funds to fill perceived gaps in the range. Activity during  
2014 included the development of a Movestic sustainability 
fund which is deemed to be an attractive investment 
proposition in light of the strong ecological political agenda in 
Sweden. Three new ‘white label’ Movestic funds were also 
launched during the year together the “Movestic Sustainability 
Portfolio”, which is suitable for customers who wish to draw 
down money to fulfil their retirement needs.
The relative fund performance measure (fig. 3) focuses on 
the number of funds under or over performing their relevant 
indices. It does not recognise the level of over or under 
performance nor does it reflect the relative size of each fund. 
An alternative and well established fund performance measure, 
produced by a respected industry magazine, compares the 
value of savers’ average fund holdings. This measure best 
reflects the investment performance from a policyholder 
perspective. According to that measure, Movestic’s fund range 
performed competitively during 2014 when compared with 
our peer group, which maintains our strong market position.
Premium income (fig 4)
The increase in premium income is predominantly due to an 
increase in new business levels. The recurring regular 
premiums have increased marginally year on year for the 
Pensions and Savings business which is key to achieving 
sustained growth. Regular premiums for the Life and Health 
business have remained broadly flat year on year.
Risks associated with the strategic objective
There remains a risk from high levels of lapses. It is evident 
that there is inherent risk in the Swedish market where 
customer awareness of the ability to transfer their pension 
is a feature with increasing influence as a consequence of 
ongoing public discussion. The Movestic product proposition 
already offers significantly more portability for transferring 
pensions than the general market. As such, although higher 
transfer rates would create challenges, an increased right  
to transfer would be beneficial to customers and to 
Movestic in terms of its market position with other more 
traditional competitors.
Profit emerging from the in-force book is dependent upon 
the size of the funds under management. Adverse investment 
market conditions would therefore adversely impact this 
strategic objective.
From a Group perspective we are exposed to foreign currency 
fluctuations which impacts the Sterling value emerging from 
the Swedish operations. 
21
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B BUSINESS REVIEW
2
 ENHANCE VALUE THROUGH NEW BUSINESS  SWEDEN
New business profits have increased 
further in 2014 as the result of 
continued improvement in IFA support 
together with an improvement in 
average margins.
Highlights 
–  Modest increase in new business volumes 
compared with 2013. 
–   Improved average profit margins despite increasingly 
competitive market conditions. 
–  The development of innovative product  
concepts continues.
Review of the year
After a successful 2013, growth in new business has 
continued in 2014, with continued support being provided 
by the IFA market. The business is deemed to have reached 
a realistically sustainable level of new business volumes  
and hence focus in the year has partly been on developing 
products and fund commercial structures so as to increase 
the average profitability of the new business written. The 17% 
increase in gross new business margin (before acquisition 
costs) compared to 2013 illustrates the rewards from 
management’s focus on profitability.
The approach taken by Movestic to focus on profitability and 
sustainability rather than having an inappropriate expectation 
of volume growth beyond a sensible natural level for the  
size of the business and the market competition, is very much 
in accordance with the Chesnara Group strategy regarding 
writing new business. It is very reassuring to see Movestic 
demonstrate how this sensible approach can continue to 
generate significant new business franchise value in the Group. 
New business premium income
As expected the strong growth in new premium income in 
2013, which was a year of recovery, has not continued in 2014. 
Volumes have, however, continued to increase, albeit at  
a more sustainable rate. They are in line with plan and are 
deemed to be positive in context of the market size and the 
scale of the Movestic operation. More importantly the volume 
is sufficient to provide a competitive return on capital and  
to create significant franchise value for the Chesnara Group.
The quarterly trend analysis shows a relatively marked 
reduction in the second half of 2014. This is partly a reflection 
of the general seasonality of new business levels and the 
inherent variability in new business over short timeframes. 
In addition, during the second half of 2014 there has been  
a general market shift from unit-linked products to more 
traditional products offering more certainty of returns. Whilst 
in the short term any preference for the benefits of more 
traditional contracts puts an inevitable strain on Movestic’s 
sales, the view remains that unit-linked investments will 
become increasingly attractive over time as the sustainability 
of the returns being offered on traditional contracts 
becomes unviable.
Trend analysis of new business  
premium income (£m) 
65.0
Q4,	14.0
Q3,	12.7
Q2,	19.4
Q1,	18.9
2014
58.4
Q4,	17.0
Q3,	13.8
Q2,	15.0
Q1,	12.6
2013
22
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORTMarket share 
The market share of our specific target market, namely the 
company paid unit-linked market was 12.5% for 2014. This 
remains above our internal benchmark expectation for a 
company of Movestic’s scale in relation to the scale of the 
market competition.
The downturn in the second half of the year is not reflective 
of any systematic concerns or deficiencies in the product 
offering. The second half results are also slightly understated 
as a result of a change in how Movestic interfaces with  
a particular broker leading to a tranche of new business 
being omitted from our Q4 sales volume submission. This 
was solely a market share reporting issue with no implications 
on policy processing and accounting routines.
Trend analysis of Movestic’s share  
of new business
	 Total	business
	 	Unit-linked	company-paid	pension	business		
(excluding	‘tick	the	box’	market)
15.1% 
14.2% 
12.4% 
7.8% 
8.7% 
7.1% 
5.1% 
5.6% 
8.9% 
8.5%
10.8%
6.8% 
H1	2012 H2	2012 H1	2013 H2	2013
H1	2014 H2	2014
Movestic’s share of new unit-linked company-paid 
pension business (excluding	‘tick	the	box’	market)
12.5%
13.7%
2014
2013
Development of innovative product concepts and 
margin enhancement
A differentiating feature of Movestic is the carefully 
selected fund range which over time has proven to perform 
very well compared to similar offerings. The work to 
further develop and improve the fund range is continually 
given high priority. During 2014 there has been significant 
activity in this including the launch of three new funds 
white labelled as Movestic funds and the introduction of a 
Movestic Sustainability portfolio. The benefits of the new 
“white labelled” funds, enabled through the set-up of a new 
SICAV (fund structure) during the year, in addition to being 
well matched to policyholder requirements, is that Movestic 
receives a higher proportion of the product value chain 
thereby improving new business margins. The sustainability 
fund is very much required to meet the increasingly 
ecologically focused demands of the Swedish consumer.
Risks associated with the strategic objective
Economic conditions in Sweden have been mixed during 
2014. The Swedish OMX all-share index has increased by 
11.9% during the year whilst interest rates were reduced  
to zero in late October 2014, and now stand at negative 0.1%, 
effective at the start of February 2015. As a result, there 
remains a general sense of uncertainty that has led to some 
consumers preferring more traditional investment products 
to equity-based unit-linked investments. Whilst recent 
improvements in confidence and good equity market 
performance has ensured the unit-linked market has remained 
attractive to many investors, there is a risk that returns being 
offered on traditional products will adversely impact the 
relative attractiveness of Movestic’s unit-linked proposition. 
We continue to believe that as equity market confidence 
continues to recover and that as the traditional investment 
offerings become less sustainable for providers, there will 
be a gradual shift back towards unit-linked investments. New 
business volumes remain sensitive to market preferences 
and continued IFA support. New business volumes are also 
sensitive to the quality of service provided to IFAs and the 
end customer. Movestic continues to score highly in internal 
and external service level assessments.
New business remains relatively concentrated towards several 
large IFAs. This is inevitable to some extent but the fact  
that Movestic has extended the breadth of IFA support in the 
year has reduced the concentration risk. Whilst Movestic 
has further broadened its coverage of the broker market, the 
fact remains that a large proportion of new business comes 
from two large brokers thereby creating a level of concentration 
risk. In light of this risk, Movestic takes comfort from the 
fact they are assessed very favourably on an internal product 
provider assessment scorecard maintained by one of the 
major brokers. The second large broker has a proven strong 
level of support for the Movestic proposition as demonstrated 
by its continued support of Movestic during and subsequent 
to the servicing difficulties experienced in 2011.
The competitive market puts pressure on new sales margins 
and even though Movestic’s margins have held up well, 
these external pressures have led to management focussing 
on achieving better terms in the fund operation.
23
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION BBUSINESS REVIEW
3
ACQUIRE LIFE AND PENSION BUSINESSES
During the year we announced the acquisition of the Waard Group in the Netherlands. 
The deal scores highly on our financial assessment criteria and is expected to be  
cash generative. The purchase price represents a healthy discount to embedded value. 
Perhaps of even more relevance is the opportunity to progress further value  
adding deals in the Dutch market.
Highlights 
–   Successful acquisition of the Waard Group in the Netherlands for 
€67.8m (subject to regulatory approval).
–   Entry to a third market assessed as having significant further market 
consolidation potential.
–   Benefits have accrued from the Protection Life acquisition in line  
with expectations.
Review of the year
There has been a continued increase in general market activity in the UK  
and across Europe. The activity is due to a number of factors including larger 
financial organisations wishing to re-focus on core activities and the desire 
to release capital or generate funds from potentially capital intensive Life and 
Pension businesses. Despite the improving general M&A environment, 
regulatory review programmes and legislative changes, have to an extent 
dampened the actual level of Life and Pension sector deals progressed in the 
UK. We are therefore mindful that there may be a slight short term hiatus in 
activity in the UK. As a result we have increased our focus on Western Europe. 
This has resulted in our move into the Dutch market through the acquisition 
of the Waard Group.
Acquisition of the Waard group 
During November 2014 we announced the acquisition of the Waard Group  
in the Netherlands for €67.8m. To finance the deal we raised £34.5m of equity 
through a well supported share placing exercise. The acquisition creates  
a great opportunity to enter a new market within which consolidation has not 
yet begun. The deal was assessed positively on all four elements of our 
assessment scorecard:
CASH GENER ATION
High solvency levels  
will enable material cash 
distributions.
EMBEDDED VALUE Note 1
26% discount to embedded 
value supports our growth 
proposition.
STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY
Market intelligence indicates 
that significant consolidation 
potential exists. Early 
indications post announcements 
are generally supportive of  
our expectations.
RISK CONSIDERATIONS
The deal has been structured 
such that residual risks are 
deemed to be low. The  
potential impact on the risk 
profile of the Group going 
forward is minimal.
Note 1: The discount to embedded value, in terms of the Group balance 
sheet expressed in Sterling, will have deteriorated compared with the initial 
deal assessment of 26% as a result of the Euro depreciation during 2015. 
However, it remains suitably positive and of course would recover should the 
Euro subsequently recover against Sterling.
At the date of publishing the 2014 Report & Accounts the purchase of the 
Waard Group remains subject to Dutch regulatory approval.
Protection Life
The PL business has been successfully transferred into CA plc during 2014, 
resulting in £27.4m of additional cash available to transfer to Chesnara plc. 
When PL Ltd was purchased we made plans to migrate the day to day 
servicing to HCL. This process is ongoing and is envisaged to complete during 
the first half of 2015. This is slightly later than planned but broadly in line 
with the plans made at acquisition. The first full year set of results have been 
reassuring and are broadly in line with expectations.
Acquisition process and approach
Chesnara is an established Life and Pensions consolidator with a proven 
track record. This, together with a good network of contacts in the adviser 
community, who understand the Chesnara acquisition model and are 
mindful of our good reputation with the regulator, ensure we are aware of 
most viable opportunities in the UK and many opportunities in Europe. 
Despite our proven market presence, we have recently implemented  
a revised acquisition process framework in order to ensure we continue  
to identify and assess all potential value adding deals across our widening 
geographical markets. 
We assess the financial impact of potential acquisition opportunities by 
estimating the impact on three financial measures namely; the cash flow of 
the Group, the incremental embedded value and the internal rate of return. 
The financial measures are assessed under best estimate and stress scenarios.
The measures are considered by the Board and Audit & Risk Committee,  
in the context of other non-financial measures including the level of risk and 
the degree of strategic fit and opportunity.
We engage specialists to support stringent due diligence procedures and the 
actual acquisition process.
Risks associated with the strategic objective
The risk of not effectively delivering this objective is two-fold. Firstly, there is 
the risk that Chesnara makes no further acquisitions and secondly there  
is the risk that we make an inappropriate acquisition that adversely impacts 
the financial strength of the Group.
The acquisition of the Waard Group opens a new territory and hence 
increases our options thereby reducing the risk that no further value adding 
deals are done. Also, the broader target market will also reduce the risk  
of inappropriate opportunities being progressed on the ground that better 
optionality will enable us to identify better fit deals at a more competitive 
price. As our acquisition strategy focuses more on non-UK markets we 
become increasingly exposed to currency risk. Where appropriate, as was 
the case with the Waard acquisition, we protect the Sterling value of the 
purchase price. Flexibility over the timing of subsequent capital extractions 
and dividend flows provide an element of management control over the 
Sterling value of cash inflows. We accept the short-term fluctuations in the 
reporting of embedded value that can arise.
During recent years we have enhanced our financial deal assessment modelling 
capabilities which improves the quality of financial information available  
to the Board. This strongly mitigates the risk of inappropriate opportunities 
being pursued. In addition, the increased financial strength of the Group means 
that any perceived risk that pressure to do a deal could result in a departure from 
the stringent assessment criteria will have reduced.
Acquisition outlook
Despite some short term challenges in the UK due to the uncertainty 
created by regulatory review programmes, we remain confident that all the 
commercial and economic drivers for consolidation remain positive and 
hence the market will become more active in due course. In the meantime, 
the acquisition of the Waard Group will provide significant potential in the 
Dutch market. We are well positioned to take advantage of any value adding 
opportunities that may arise. Our financial foundations are strong and we 
continue to have strong support from shareholders and lending institutions 
to progress our acquisition strategy. In addition our operating model which 
consists of well established outsource arrangements plus efficient, modern 
in house solutions, means we have the flexibility to accommodate a wide 
range of potential target books. With all the above in mind, we are confident 
that we are well positioned to continue the successful acquisition track 
record in the future.
24
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORTBUSINESS REVIEW
CHESNARA CULTURE AND VALUES
General business conduct
The principles of general business conduct are illustrated below:
Conduct 
Business with 
professionalism 
and integrity
Conduct 
business with 
due care, skill 
and attention
Responsible 
management, 
with adequate 
risk management 
systems
Maintain adequate financial resources
Good business conduct is in many ways a matter of behavioural or cultural 
practice and principles. Chesnara has always maintained high standards  
with regards to ensuring the business is managed on a risk based, fair and 
responsible basis. To further reinforce and embed this culture of  
responsibility revised Governance procedures and processes (“Governance 
Map”) are being developed which are due for full implementation during 
2015. The Governance Map will ensure Chesnara’s cultural values and good 
business conduct are effectively applied across the enlarged Group.  
It will also create consistency of approach and transparency of policy both of 
which are fundamental requirements of the Solvency II regime.
A critical element of good business conduct in a regulated financial services 
business is the need to maintain adequate financial resources which in  
turn is managed by governing our solvency position. In recognition of this, 
as part of the day to day conduct of our business we regularly monitor  
the solvency position of the Group. This demonstrates our commitment to 
maintaining a strong, but not excessive, solvency position. 
This brings a number of benefits, including supporting:
–  one of our key financial management objectives of safeguarding  
policyholder interests.
–  delivering to the dividend expectations of our shareholders.
–  potential acquisition opportunities.
–  our ability to absorb volatility created by external economic conditions.
Highlights – Group solvency continues to be strong at 284% (2013: 194%). This is stated after a proposed final dividend of £15.1m, and also  
reflects the benefit of the £34.5m equity raise in December 2014. Completion of the Waard Group acquisition in 2015 will reverse some of the  
increase in Group Solvency that has been seen in 2014.
Regulatory capital at 31 December
  Excess of Capital Resources over Target Requirement
  Excess of Target Requirement minimum over Minimum
  Minimum Regulatory Capital Resources Requirement
£m
284%
200
150
146.0
194%
76.8
100
50
0
79.3
81.9
176%
14.0
36.3
65.8
218%
29.2
23.1
44.1
156%
1.4
12.6
1.6
25.2
121%
0.6
2.9
2014       2013
PL Ltd
376%
21.0
4.6
9.3
311%
280%
18.0
5.6
11.2
2014       2013
Movestic
2014       2013
Group
2014       2013
CA plc
Notes
– The percentages in the chart to the left represent the 
excess of the capital resources over the minimum 
regulatory capital resources requirement.
–  The target capital requirements stated are based  
on the Board’s internal minimum targets, and are  
set as follows:
–  Group – 100% of minimum regulatory capital 
resources requirement.
–  CA plc – 162.5% of the minimum long-term 
insurance capital requirement plus 100% of the 
resilience capital requirement.
–  PL – the European minimum long-term insurance 
  capital requirement.
–  Movestic – 150% of the capital resources 
requirement.
  Group solvency (IGD)
  The IGD represents the solvency of the Group, and is calculated using 
requirements imposed by the PRA. The IGD ratio at 31 December 2014 is 
284% (2013: 194%) with the surplus having moved from £76.8m at 31 
December 2013 to £146.0m at 31 December 2014. IGD is stated after the 
final dividend of £15.1m (2013: £13.4m). The movement in IGD this year is a 
function of the following key items:
–  Equity share raising; £34.5m was raised from a share placing for the 
acquisition of Waard Group.
–  The Group regulatory surplus in the year. The Group Regulatory surplus 
in 2014 has been strong, amounting to £44.5m. This has resulted in a 
significant benefit to the IGD, outweighing the impact of the 2014  
total dividend of £22.5m (interim dividend of £7.4m plus the proposed final 
2014 dividend of £15.1m). 
–  CA plc solvency has reduced from 218% to 176%, with the surplus over 
the requirement reducing from £52.3m to £50.3m. This is stated after 
proposed dividends of £65.0m (2013: £48.0m), thereby showing that strong 
solvency is still being achieved whilst delivering strong cash flows to the 
Chesnara parent company. The position at 31 December 2014 includes the 
impact of the Part VII transfer from PL into CA plc.
–  PL Ltd solvency  is 128% at 31 December 2014.  The reduction when 
compared to the prior year is a result of the successful Part VII transfer  
of PL into CA plc. The remaining capital is due to be transferred in 2015 
following de-regulation of PL Ltd.
–  Movestic had a solvency ratio of 376% at 31 December 2014. Whilst it has 
a very strong solvency ratio, Movestic does not currently pay dividends to 
Chesnara due to an additional liquidity constraint that is imposed by the 
Swedish regulator.
  Solo solvency
  The Board sets internal solvency targets for each of its regulated subsidiaries, 
which have remained unchanged when compared with the prior year. The 
graph above shows that the solvency positions of each regulated subsidiary 
continue to exceed the internal targets imposed by the Board:
Solvency II
The introduction of Solvency II on 1 January 2016 will change the capital 
position of both the Group and its regulated subsidiaries. The final  
impact of Solvency II continues to be uncertain although we expect the 
Group will not be adversely impacted. Solvency II may also result in  
the Board re-assessing the internal targets imposed on each regulated 
entity. Further detail on the status of our Solvency II programme is 
included on page 47. 
25
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B 
BUSINESS REVIEW
CHESNARA CULTURE AND VALUES  (CONTINUED)
  Treatment of customers
  UK
  Treating customers fairly
We have embedded the principle that we aim to treat all customers fairly 
within all our people, processes and procedures. This aim has been shared 
with all our outsourcing partners. The principle goes beyond the way we 
answer telephone calls and deal with the regular service that we provide 
to our customers. It is also considered when we deal with complaints from 
our customers or where we identify an error within our systems that 
affects policyholder outcomes.
  Complaints
The general downward trend in the overall volume of complaints received 
has continued although we continue to receive a number of complaints 
from complaint management companies in respect of endowment policies 
surrendered or lapsed many years ago. The Financial Ombudsman Service 
continues to agree with our decision on the majority of complaints referred 
to them for adjudication.
  Policyholder investment funds
Through the auspices of the CA plc Investment Committee we have 
continued our oversight of policyholder funds through regular meetings 
with the investment managers. With them we continue to review the 
funds to ensure the underlying investment mix is the most appropriate for 
policyholders. A critical factor that has a bearing on the customer 
experience is the level of investment return on their assets. Whilst unit 
linked customers are naturally directly exposed to the volatility of 
investment markets outside of Chesnara’s direct influence, it is important 
that we ensure the investment performance of our policyholder funds  
is competitive against market benchmarks. In light of this we are pleased 
to confirm that our main managed funds have all out-performed their 
benchmarks during 2014.
  Sweden
Movestic has received high scores in external surveys conducted within 
the insurance industry in Sweden. Furthermore and in relation to the  
size of the operations, Movestic’s complaints function receives very few 
customer complaints and cases brought to the Public Complaints Board 
are very rare. The Swedish Consumer Agency has recently completed a 
review regarding marketing of funds. The review of Movestic’s  
information and marketing activities was closed without remarks.
  Treatment of employees
  We recognise that management and staff are at the heart of Chesnara’s  
success. Our continued flexible and supportive approach has contributed 
to another year of low staff turnover throughout the Group.
The Waard Group has been through a period of significant uncertainty over 
recent years following the bankruptcy of its parent company. Throughout 
this period the staff and management have remained focussed, 
professional and loyal. Chesnara are keen that our new Dutch colleagues 
are rewarded for their professionalism and loyalty by being positively 
involved in our future plans for the development of the Waard Group.
  Treatment of investors
As a listed company, clearly one of our core responsibilities is to continue 
to provide a competitive return to our shareholders. We are aware that for 
many of our shareholders continuity of our historically strong dividend 
performance is a core requirement. In light of this we are pleased that the 
financial performance of the Group during 2014 enables us to increase our 
full year dividend by 2.9% compared to 2013. The 2014 full year dividend 
of 18.4p per share represents a yield of 5.4% (based on the share price  
as at 31 December 2014 of 339.25p per share). Total shareholder returns 
over a 5 year and 1 year period are competitive in comparison to the FTSE 
350 higher yield index.
In addition to providing financial returns to our investors we also recognise 
the importance of engaging with our investors in an effective way so  
as to ensure they are appropriately informed about the performance of the 
company. To this end, we produce Report and Accounts that aim to be  
as open and informative as is reasonable. We also ensure we are available 
to meet with investors and hold ad hoc presentations as appropriate.
The ongoing investor satisfaction is evidenced by the support received  
for the recent equity raise required to enable the Group’s acquisition in  
the Dutch market.
26
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT 
Sweden
Movestic has an active dialogue with the regulator on business as usual 
matters, in conjunction with interactions on any specific regulatory affairs. 
The relationship with the regulator is good and no complaints or concerns 
have been expressed regarding Movestic’s operations.
Netherlands
We have forged an encouraging initial relationship with the Dutch regulator 
(DNB) which builds upon a strong pre-existing relationship between the 
existing Waard Group management team and the DNB. The Declaration of 
No Objection (DNO) application, which the regulator is required to give 
before the transaction can complete, is pending at the point of issuing 
these Report & Accounts.
  Relationship with regulators
  UK
As ever in this highly regulated industry there have been a number of  
new and ongoing initiatives that have led to various levels of attention and 
challenge. It is pleasing to report that none of these have given rise  
to significant issues. The commentary below sets out a list of the key 
activities during the year.
  Legacy review 
During the year CA plc has participated in a review by the FCA that looked 
at legacy investment linked business. This review has looked at a number  
of areas including company governance, customer correspondence and 
policyholder charges. A report on the findings of this review is expected  
in the second quarter of 2015.
Independent Governance Committees (IGCs) on pensions
The government has announced that there will be new requirements for 
the governance of both Workplace Personal Pension schemes and 
Occupational Pension schemes. The company has taken external legal 
advice on the impact of these changes and will be ensuring that the 
governance of these schemes going forward meets the requirements of 
the regulations and legislation. The changes are likely to result in the 
appointment of an external Governance Advisory Arrangement to oversee 
the Workplace Personal Pensions and report on their value for money 
whilst the Trustee arrangements for the occupational schemes will need 
to be reviewed and they will also need to report on value for money.
  Pension changes
The government has passed legislation that has changed the pensions 
rules with effect from April 2015 to allow policyholders to take their 
retirement benefits in a variety of ways, including as a lump sum. In order 
to comply with these new rules it has been necessary to update our 
systems and correspondence with customers. Following its introduction in 
April there is an expectation that there will be a peak in demand for this 
new benefit, we have therefore planned additional resources to meet this 
expected demand.
  PRA visit
As part of its regular monitoring of CA plc the PRA carried out its annual 
Periodic Summary Meeting.  This meeting helps it understand the business 
and identify its monitoring requirements over the year.
27
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B 
 
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The key performance indicators illustrate how effectively we have delivered against our three strategic objectives.  
The strong net cash generation of £71.1m together with the significant embedded value earnings in the year clearly 
demonstrates how effectively we continue to deliver against our core objective of “maximising value from the in-force 
book”. Within the embedded value earnings there is a £9.7m new business profit item which reflects the positive 
performance against our objective to “Enhance value through new business”. Finally, whilst not recognised in any of the 
2014 figures, the impending acquisition of the Waard Group is forecast to have a positive impact on all of the financial 
measures in 2015, continuing to deliver our objective to add value by acquiring Life and Pension businesses.
IFRS PRE-TAX PROFIT
  £28.8 M 2013: £60.6m
What is it?
The presentation of the 
results in accordance with 
International Financial 
Reporting Standards (IFRS) 
aims to smooth the 
recognition of profit arising 
from written business over 
the life of insurance and 
investment contracts.
Why is it important?
For businesses in run-off the reported profit is closely aligned 
with, and a strong indicator of, the emergence of surplus 
arising within the long-term insurance funds of those 
businesses. The emergence of surplus supports the payments 
of dividends from the regulated insurance businesses to 
Chesnara plc, which in turn enables the payment of dividends 
to our shareholders. IFRS pre-tax profit is a strong indicator of 
how we are performing against our stated strategic objective 
of “maximising value from the in-force book”.
Risks
The IFRS profit can be affected by a number of our principal 
risks and uncertainties as set out on pages 45 to 46. In 
particular, a significant reduction in Government bond yields 
during 2014 has had a material effect on the IFRS pre-tax 
profit in the year. Equity and property markets in the UK have 
been broadly flat during 2014, but had a more marked impact 
on the 2013 results, following strong performance in that year.
NET CASH GENERATION
  £71.1M 2013: £36.7m 
What is it?
Net cash generation is a 
measure of how much 
distributable cash the 
subsidiaries have generated 
in the period. The 
dominating aspect of cash 
generation is the change in 
amounts freely transferable 
from the operating 
businesses, taking into 
account target statutory 
solvency requirements 
which are determined by the 
boards of the respective 
businesses. It follows that 
cash generation is not only 
influenced by the level  
of surplus arising but  
also by the level of target 
solvency capital.
Why is it important?
Cash generation is a key measure, because it is the net cash 
flows to Chesnara from its Life and Pensions businesses 
which supports Chesnara’s dividend-paying capacity and 
acquisition strategy. Cash generation can be a strong indicator 
of how we are performing against our stated objective  
of “maximising value from the in-force book”. However, our 
cash generation is always managed in the context of our 
stated value of maintaining strong solvency positions within 
the regulated entities of the Group.
Risks
The ability of the underlying regulated subsidiaries within the 
Group to generate cash is affected by a number of our 
principal risks and uncertainties as set out on pages 45 to 46.   
Whilst cash generation is a function of the regulatory surplus, 
as opposed to the IFRS surplus, they are closely aligned, and 
therefore factors such as yields on fixed interest securities 
and equity and property performance contribute significantly 
to the level of cash generation within the Group. In addition to 
this, regulatory change, such as the introduction of Solvency 
II, can also materially affect the levels of cash, both positively 
or adversely, generated by our regulated subsidiaries.
28
Highlights
£m
CA
S&P
PL
Movestic
Group	&	
consol	adj
Profit	on	
acquisition
2014
2013
45
35
25
15
5
(5)
(15)
–  Overall reduction in IFRS pre tax profit of £31.8m is driven 
  by a £45.6m adverse swing in S&P result. 
–  S&P loss in the year is driven by reducing bond yields, 
  which has resulted in the requirement to increase reserves 
  held for policies with options and guarantees. 
–  This loss is off-set by a strong CA segment result, which 
  has provided an expected hedge against this dynamic, 
  with bond yields having had a positive impact.
–  Movestic result is stronger than the prior year.
2014
2013
Highlights
Total	Gross	cash	generated
Synergistic	effects	of	Part	VII	transfer
Release	of	capital	from	S&P	WP	funds
Exceptional	cash	capitalisation	PL
Movement	in	restriction	of		
S&P	WP	Capital
Net	cash	generation
£m		(20)		(10)				0						10					20					30					40					50					60					70
–  Gross cash generation across the Group continues to be 
  strong, driven by strong and stable UK cash generation.
–  Net cash generation is supported by the Part VII transfer of  
  PL into CA plc on 31 December 2014.
–  The cash generated during 2014, coupled with the strong 
  parent company cash position of £80.1m at 31 December 
  2014 and the expected cash generative nature of the Waard  
  Group acquisition leaves us in a good position to continue  
  our attractive dividend policy and acquisition strategy.
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORTEEV EARNINGS, NET OF TAX
  £44.2 M 2013: £82.7m (excluding modelling adjustments of £4.1m) 
2014
2013
Why is it important?
By recognising the net present value of expected future cash 
flows arising from the contracts (in-force value), a different 
perspective is provided in the performance of the Group and 
on the valuation of the business. EEV earnings are an 
important KPI as they provide a longer-term measure of the 
value generated during a period. The EEV earnings of the 
Group can be a strong indicator of how we have delivered to 
our strategic objectives, in particular the new business profits 
generated from “enhancing our value through new business 
in selected markets”, coupled with “maximising our value from 
the in-force book”.
Risks
The EEV earnings of the Group can be affected by a number 
of factors, including those highlighted within our principle risks 
and uncertainties as set out on pages 45 to 46. In addition  
to the factors that affect the IFRS pre-tax profit and cash 
generation of the Group, the EEV earnings can be more 
sensitive to other factors such as the expense base and 
persistency assumptions. This is primarily due to the fact that 
assumption changes in EEV affect our long-term view of the 
future cash flows arising from our books of business.
What is it?
In recognition of the longer- 
term nature of the Group’s 
insurance and investment 
contracts, supplementary 
information is presented  
in accordance with  
European Embedded Value  
‘EEV’ principles.
The principal underlying 
components of the EEV 
result are:
–  The expected return from 
  existing business (being the
  effect of the unwind of  
the rates used to discount  
the value in-force).
–  Value added by the writing 
  of new business.
–  Variations in actual  
  experience from that  
  assumed in the
  opening valuation.
–  The impact of restating 
  assumptions underlying the 
  determination of expected 
  cash flows.
Highlights
New	business	contribution
Operating	profit	-	existing	business
Economic	effects
Uncovered	business	&	other	group
Exceptional	gain	on	acquisition
Tax
Total	EEV	earnings
£m		(20)		(10)					0				10				20				30				40				50				60				70				80				90
–  Although a reduction year on year, the EEV result for 2014 
remains a positive indicator of the growth of the business.
–  Economic items continue to contribute a significant portion 
  of the overall EEV result, albeit at lower levels than in 2013.
EEV
  £417.2M 2013: £376.4m 
What is it?
The European Embedded 
Value (EEV) of a life 
insurance company is the 
present value of future 
profits, plus adjusted net 
asset value. It is a construct 
from the field of actuarial 
science which allows 
insurance companies to  
be valued.
Why is it important?
As the EEV takes into account expected future earnings  
streams on a discounted basis, EEV is an important reference 
point by which to assess Chesnara’s intrinsic value. A life  
and pensions group may typically be characterised as trading 
at a discount or premium to its embedded value. Analysis of 
EEV, distinguishing value in-force by segment and by product  
type, provides additional insight into the development of the  
business over time. The EEV development of the Chesnara 
Group over time can be a strong indicator of how we have 
delivered to our strategic objectives, in particular the value 
created from acquiring life and pensions businesses and 
enhancing our value through new business in selected markets. 
It ignores the potential of new business to be written in the 
future (the franchise value of our Swedish business) and the 
value of the Company’s ability to acquire further businesses.
Highlights
£m
44.2
o
f
t
a
x
i
E
a
r
n
n
g
s
n
e
t
376.4
E
E
V
2
0
1
3
2014
2013
34.6
(17.3)
(20.7)
(20.7 )
417.2
E
q
u
i
t
y
r
a
i
s
e
F
o
r
e
i
g
n
e
x
c
h
a
n
g
e
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
m
o
v
e
m
e
n
t
E
E
V
2
0
1
4
D
i
v
i
d
e
n
d
s
p
a
i
d
Risks
The Embedded Value of the Group is affected by economic 
factors such as equity and property markets and yields on fixed 
interest securities. In addition to this, whilst the other KPIs 
(which are all “performance measures”) remain relatively 
insensitive to exchange rate movements (largely due to the 
proportion of IFRS pre-tax profit generated by Movestic 
compared with the other UK businesses) the EEV of the Group 
can also be materially affected by exchange rate fluctuations 
between Swedish Krona and Sterling. For example a 10.0% 
weakening of exchange rates between Swedish Krona and 
Sterling would reduce the EEV of the Group by 3.0%, based  
on the composition of the Group’s EEV at 31 December 2014.
–  Group EEV has increased by £40.8m, or 11% during the year.
–  Post-tax EEV earnings have contributed £44.2m of the 
  movement. 
–  The equity raise of £34.5m during Q4 2014 has added to 
the EEV. This is being used to acquire the Waard Group 
  during 2015.
–  Off-setting the above positive movement is a foreign 
  exchange loss of £17.3m on the re-translation of the Movestic
  EEV, as a result of the weakening of the Swedish Krona 
  against Sterling during the year, coupled with the reduction in 
  EEV arising from dividends paid in the year.
29
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B 
 
 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 
 
FINANCIAL REVIEW
30
IFRS PRE-TAX PROFIT
  £28.8 M 2013: £60.6m
Executive summary
The IFRS results by business segment reflect the natural 
dynamics of each line of business. In summary the current 
financial model has three major components which can be 
characterised as: the “stable core”, the “variable element”, 
and the “growth operation”. The results and financial 
dynamics of each segment are analysed further as follows: 
Stable core
At the heart of surplus, and hence cash generation, are the 
CA and PL segments. The requirements of these books are to 
provide a predictable and stable platform for the financial 
model and dividend strategy. As a closed book, the key is  
to sustain this income source as effectively as possible.  
The IFRS results during the year support this objective, with 
a strong IFRS pre-tax surplus of £41.2m for CA (2013: 
£25.0m) and a PL pre-tax surplus of £5.5m. Assets under 
management within the CA segment, a key driver of 
surplus, have reduced from £1,736m at the start of the year 
to £1,702m at 31 December 2014. Whilst this represents  
a 2% reduction during the year, the reduction is less than the 
policy attrition levels in the year, despite slightly negative 
equity markets.
Further detail of the results of the CA and PL segments can 
be found on pages 31 and 32 respectively.
Variable element
The S&P component brings an element of earnings volatility 
to the Group, with the results being particularly sensitive to 
investment market movements. This is illustrated by a 
material increase in the reserve for costs of guarantees since 
the start of the year, of £17.8m in 2014. During 2013 the  
S&P segment included a surplus arising from movements in 
reserves for products with guarantees of £24.4m thereby 
representing a year on year adverse swing of some £42.2m.
Product based deductions continue to remain strong, at 
£17.1m (2013: £17.1m).
Further detail of the results of the S&P segment can be 
found on page 32.
Growth operation
The long-term financial model of Movestic is based on 
growth, with levels of new business being targeted to more 
than offset the impact of policy attrition, leading to a  
general increase in assets under management and, hence, 
management fee income. There has been an increase in 
funds under management of 23.5% (on constant exchange 
rates) since 31 December 2013.
As a result the underlying IFRS profit after adjusting for 
non-recurring items (the deferred acquisition cost charge  
in 2013 of £3.0m and the Modernac profit of £1.2m) has 
increased from £4.4m to £4.9m, or 11.4%.
The 2014 Movestic results have also been suppressed, to 
some extent, by the deterioration in strength of the Swedish 
Krona against Sterling, which has witnessed a 13.9% fall 
during 2014.
Further detail of the results of the Movestic segment can be 
found on page 33.
IFRS results
The financial dynamics of Chesnara, as described above, are 
reflected in the following IFRS results:
Year ended 31 December 
2014  
£m  
2013  
£m  
Note
CA	
S&P	
PL	
Movestic	
Chesnara	
Consolidation	adjustments	
Total profit before tax and  
exceptional item 
Profit	arising	from		
PL	acquisition	
1
2		
3
4		
5	
6
41.2		
(9.2)		
5.5		
4.9		
(7.6	)	
(6.0	)	
25.0		
36.4		
0.2		
2.6		
(4.9	)	
(1.5	)	
28.8  
57.8  
–		
2.8		
7
Total profit before tax 
Tax	
28.8  
(3.2	)	
60.6  
(11.2	)	
Total profit after tax 
25.6  
49.4  
Note 1 – The CA segment has reported strong 
results for 2014. This is largely driven by the positive 
impact of reserve changes, driven by both economic 
and non-economic factors. Further detail is provided 
on page 31.
Note 2 – The S&P segment has reported a pre-tax 
loss in the year, largely as a result of a strain arising 
from an increase in reserves required for products 
with options and guarantees. These reserves  
are sensitive to market movements, in particular the 
reduction in bond yields during 2014.
Note 3 – The 2014 results include a full year of the 
PL business. For 2013 the results that were  
reported were for the period post acquisition, being  
28 November 2013. 
Note 4 – The Movestic result has improved when 
compared with 2013. The 2013 result was adversely 
impacted by a one-off deferred acquisition cost 
charge that has not been repeated in 2014. Further 
detail is provided on page 33.
Note 5 – The Chesnara result represents holding 
company expenses. 2014 costs are higher than 2013 
primarily due to the costs associated with the Part VII 
transfer of PL into CA plc. Both 2014 and 2013 
included costs associated with acquisition activity, 
being PL Ltd and the Waard Group respectively.
Note 6 – Consolidation adjustments relate to items 
such as the amortisation of intangible assets. More 
detail is provided on page 33.
Note 7 – The 2013 Group profit before tax was stated 
after recognition of a £2.8m gain arising as a  
result of the purchase of PL Ltd.  There have been no 
adjustments to this during 2014.
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT 
 
The IFRS results by business segment are analysed in 
more detail as follows: 
The key components of the IFRS result for the year are as 
follows:
CA
The CA segment has reported a strong result for the year. 
This is driven predominantly by product deductions and the 
positive impact of reserve changes in the year. The 
waterfall graph below bridges the IFRS profit for 2013 and 
2014 and shows that the movement in surplus is driven by 
the aforementioned positive impact of reserve reductions in 
the year.
Profit before tax movement  
Year ended 31 December 2013 to year ended  
31 December 2014 (£m) 
	 Dec	2013	
	 Negative	movements	
	 Positive	movements	
	 Dec	2014
Pre-tax IFRS profit 
2014  
£m  
2013  
£m  
Note
Product-based	charges	
Administration	expenses	
Returns	on	retained	surplus	
Operating	assumption	changes	
Reserve	changes,	including		
those	due	to	market	movements
Impact	of	new	HCL	contract	
Complaint	costs	
Other	
23.2		
(8.4	)	
4.8		
0.7		
14.3		
4.2		
(1.4)		
3.8		
28.7		
(7.0	)	
3.5		
(1.7	)	
3.3		
–		
(1.5	)	
(0.3	)	
Total 
41.2  
25.0 
1
1
1	
2
3
4
2 .4
1.3
(4.9)
(0.6)
41.2
2 .8
4.2
11.0
25.0
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Note 1 – Product-based charges and returns on 
retained surplus remain significantly in excess of 
recurring administration expenses. The level of 
product-based charges in 2014 has reduced when 
compared with 2013; the core charges have remained 
stable year on year (2014: £17.3m, 2013: £17.9m), 
although the variable product charges have reduced 
from £10.8m to £5.9m. This is caused by a reduction 
in mortality and morbidity charges as a result of 
higher than expected mortality experience during  
the year.
Note 2 – The surplus in 2014 has arisen due to  
a number of items, with the two main ones being a 
positive movement in tax reserves of c£4m and  
an economic surplus of c£6.0m, driven by reducing 
Government bond yields in the year. This  
compares with the prior year where tax reserves 
were strengthened by c£2m.
Note 3 – The CA surplus includes the effect of 
modelling the new HCL contract which, as explained 
on page 19 of the Business Review, has not had a 
financial impact on the overall UK results in the 
period. This has, however, contributed a surplus of 
£4.2m to the CA result, with an equal and opposite 
impact being seen in the S&P segment results, which 
are analysed on page 32.
Note 4 – The CA result in the period includes £3.8m 
of “other” items. This predominantly (£3.4m) relates 
to a one off item arising from the reserving impact  
of a change in practice associated with policies that 
can accrue bonus units in certain circumstances.
31
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 
	
	
	
	
FINANCIAL REVIEW
IFRS PRE-TAX PROFIT (CONTINUED)
S&P
The S&P segment has posted a pre-tax loss for the year, 
compared with a profit in the prior year. The change in 
profitability can be highlighted by the following waterfall graph:
Profit before tax movement 
Year ended 31 December 2013 to year ended  
31 December 2014 (£m)
	 Dec	2013	
	 Negative	movements	
	 Positive	movements	
	 Dec	2014
6.8
(42 .2)
36.4
D
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1
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S&P posted a pre-tax IFRS loss of £9.2m for year, the key 
components of the result being:
Pre-tax IFRS profit 
2014  
£m  
2014  
£m  
Note
Product	based	deductions	
Administration	expenses	
Income	on	S&P	
shareholder	funds	
Change	in	cost	of	guarantees	
in	with-profit	funds:	
Asset	valuation		
movements	
Change	in	yield	curve	
Lapse	experience	
Other	
Total 
Change	in	sterling	and		
expense	reserves	
Impact	of	new	HCL	contract	
Other	
17.1		
(9.7	)	
6.4		
17.1		
	(9.9	)	
(0.4	)	
15.7		
(23.2	)	
(4.0	)	
(6.3	)	
(17.8 ) 
(0.6	)	
(4.2	)	
(0.4	)	
8.6		
19.9	
(3.7	)	
(0.4	)	
22.4
5.4		
-		
(0.2	)
Total  
(9.2 ) 
36.4
1
1
2
3
4
5
Note 1 – Product-based deductions continue to hold up as the book 
runs-off. These are supported by assets under management, which 
have remained broadly constant year on year, having moved from 
£1,113m at the start of the year to £1,146m at 31 December 2014. 
Product deductions exceed administration expenses by £7.4m and 
£7.2m in 2014 and 2013 respectively.
Note 2 – The income on with-profits shareholder funds is driven by 
investment market performance. The 2014 result has benefited 
significantly from the impact of increases in the capital value of 
government bonds during the year. Such a dynamic did not exist in 
the 2013 financial year.
Note 3 – During 2014 the S&P segment has reported a strain of 
£17.8m arising from its policies that contain options and guarantees.  
The strain has arisen primarily due to the significant reduction in 
government bond yields that has been witnessed in 2014, most 
notably during the last quarter of the year. Whilst equity values can 
also affect the reserves that are required for these policies, the fact 
that equity performance has been only slightly negative in 2014 has 
resulted in no significant changes in the reserves required. Included 
within the change in the costs of guarantees is a lapse experience 
loss of £4.0m, driven by observed lapses being slightly less than 
assumed at the start of the year.
Note 4 – Sterling and expense reserves are sensitive to both the 
expense base and to investment market movements. As investment 
markets improve, the level of sterling reserves (which provide against 
situations where future policy-based revenue does not cover future 
administration costs) reduces. 2013 witnessed a surplus emerging as 
a result of this dynamic, whereas equity market movements in 2014 
have been more muted, resulting in no significant changes required 
to sterling reserves in the year.
Note 5 – As reported in the half year 2014 results there is a £4.2m 
strain that has arisen as a result of the effect of modelling the revised 
HCL contract. Whilst this has not impacted the overall Group results, 
the effect can be seen in the individual segments, with the CA 
segment reflecting a benefit of the same magnitude in its surplus.
PL
The PL segment has contributed a pre-tax IFRS surplus of 
£5.5m during 2014 compared with £0.2m during 2013. The 
main reason for the increase year on year is that PL Ltd was  
purchased in November 2013, and therefore the earnings  
as reported in 2013 only reflect the earnings of the business 
subsequent to Chesnara’s ownership, and consequently the 
contribution in 2013 was not material.
The main contributor to the pre-tax IFRS profit in 2014  
is the expected release of the prudence margins within the 
reserving basis, relating to mortality, persistency and 
investment returns from the book, amounting to £5.3m. 
Experience surpluses, representing the difference between 
the expected releases of margins and the actuarial 
experience, were not material in the period. Administration 
expenses of £2.1m, representing the ongoing costs of 
administering the PL book of business were incurred in the 
year. These costs are in line with the expectations that were 
derived from our due diligence process, prior to completing 
the acquisition on 28 November 2013.
32
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT 
		
		
		
		
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
Consolidation adjustments
The adjustments arising on consolidation are analysed below:
Pre-tax IFRS profit 
2014  
£m  
2013  
£m  
Note
CA	–	Amortisation	of	AVIF	
S&P	–	Amortisation	of	AVIF	
PL	–	Amortisation	of	AVIF	
Movestic:	
	 Amortisation	of	AVIF	
	 Write	back	of	DAC	
	 Total	
(2.3	)	
(0.7	)	
(2.4	)	
(3.9	)	
3.3		
(0.6	)	
(2.2	)	
(0.8	)	
(0.2	)	
(4.4	)	
6.1		
1.7	
5	
6	
Total 
(6.0 ) 
(1.5 ) 
Note 5 – As PL Ltd was purchased on  
28 November 2013 the amortisation charge associated 
with the “value in force” intangible asset that was 
recognised on acquisition was small. The 2014 
financial year includes a full year charge. The “value 
in force” intangible asset is being amortised over its 
estimated useful economic life.
Note 6 – Included within consolidation adjustments 
is an item in relation to Movestic that reverses the 
amortisation charge on DAC relating to policies that 
were written prior to Chesnara ownership. During 
2013 this adjustment increased compared with 
previous years due to the additional charge that was 
booked as a result of the refinements made to the 
DAC amortisation model. See note 4 for further detail. 
For 2014 this consolidation adjustment is back in 
line with previous years.
Movestic
The IFRS pre-tax results of Movestic, before the impact of 
DAC model changes of £(3.0)m (see note 4 below) and a 
non-recurring profit share of £1.2m (see note 2 below), both  
of which occurred during 2013, have increased slightly year  
on year, from £4.4m in 2013 to £4.9m in 2014. The table  
below analyses the constituent parts of the pre-tax IFRS profit:
Pre-tax IFRS profit 
2014  
£m  
2013  
£m  
Note
Pensions	and	Savings,		
before	impact	of	DAC	
model	change	
Risk	and	health	
Other	
Total profit before impact of 
DAC model change 
Impact	of	DAC	model	change	
Total profit before tax 
2.4		
0.4		
2.1		
4.9  
–		
4.9  
2.2		
2.2		
1.2		
5.6	
(3.0	)	
2.6  
1
2
3
4
Note 1 – The Pensions & Savings business generates 
value through fee income that it receives from 
policyholders (management charges) and investment 
managers (fee rebates). These fees are a function of 
Assets under Management (AuM), which have grown 
from SEK 17.7bn at 31 December 2013 to SEK 21.9bn 
at 31 December 2014, representing growth of 23% 
during the year. This has led to fee and income 
growth of 15%, excluding the impact of exchange 
rates. The corresponding cost base (being brokerage 
costs and internal costs) has increased at broadly the 
same rate, resulting in a small growth in profit.
Note 2 – The Risk and Health business has 
generated a small profit in the year, amounting to 
£0.4m (SEK 4.8m), compared with a profit of £2.2m 
(SEK 22.5m) during 2013. The size of the business 
has remained broadly the same year on year, with 
net earned premiums, after reinsurance, of £15.6m 
(SEK 175.9m) in 2014 versus £16.7m (SEK 170.1m) 
in 2013. The number of policies in force at  
31 December 2014 was 382,000, compared with 
362,000 at 31 December 2013. The key drivers of 
the reduction in profit in this business are a slight 
increase in the net loss ratio in the year coupled 
with 2013 including the recognition of a one-off 
profit share of £1.2m that was not repeated in 2014.
Note 3 – The “Other” component includes; the 
results of Movestic’s associated company, 
Modernac; investment income; the results of 
Movestic’s investment management business and 
fair value adjustments on the financial reinsurance 
that Movestic uses to fund the writing of new 
Pensions & Savings business. The key reason that 
the result of this segment has increased when 
compared to the prior year is due to a swing in fair 
value adjustment on financial reinsurance, which 
was a loss of c£0.9m in 2013, versus a small fair 
value profit of c£0.3m in 2014.
Note 4 – During the prior year a one-off accelerated 
deferred acquisition costs charge was reported 
following a review of the amortisation profile of 
deferred acquisition costs. There was no such 
adjustment this year.
33
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B 
	
  
 
	
	
		
		
		 	
	
 
FINANCIAL REVIEW
NET CASH GENERATION
  £71.1M 2013: £36.7m 
The Group’s cash flows are generated 
principally from the interest earned on capital, 
the release of excess capital as the life funds run 
down, policyholder charges and management 
fees earned on assets under management.
This information illustrates that gross and net cash generation within the 
Group continue to be robust. Key aspects underpinning the outcome are:
Highlights 
–  Gross cash generation in the UK run-off businesses has decreased by 
£3.2m in the year compared with 2013, largely due to the net impact  
of a large decrease in bond yields in the year.
–  Net cash generation has benefitted from capital efficiencies of £27.4m 
arising from the Part VII transfer of PL into CA plc (see note 2).
–  In 2013 the acquisition of PL Ltd had a short-term adverse impact on 
net cash generation as a result of a day one capital injection being 
required to increase the capital resources to 150% of the minimum 
regulatory capital requirement.  As can be seen from the table to  
the right, £7.1m of cash has been generated by PL in its first full year, 
coupled with the synergistic impact of the Part VII transfer.
–  Movestic required no additional funding during 2014 (2013: £nil).
–  The increase in cash utilised by Chesnara in the year is due to a 
combination of costs associated with PL Part VII transfer, as well as 
initial transaction costs in relation to the acquisition of Waard Group.
  The Group’s closed life funds provide predictable fund maturity and 
liability profiles, creating stable long-term cash flows for distribution to 
shareholders and for repayment of outstanding debt. Cash flow 
generation will ultimately naturally decline over time as the UK 
businesses run-off. Despite this natural downward pressure gross cash 
generation in 2014 held up well when compared with 2013.
  Although investment returns are less predictable, a significant portion of 
the investment risk is borne by policyholders. However, the S&P 
segment continues to demonstrate short-term volatility. This arises from 
the impact of investment market movements and the cost to 
shareholders of guarantees within the S&P with profits funds. Although 
the short-term measure of this cost follows the fortunes of investment 
markets, we manage the risk taking a longer-term perspective.
The following table identifies the source of internal gross 
and net cash generation within the Group, representing the 
net change in funds available to service debt (interest and 
loan principal repayment) and equity (dividends):
Year ended 31 December 
Cash generated from/
(utilised by):  
2014  
2013  
Note 
£m  
£m  
CA
Surplus	arising	in	the	year	
Change	in	target	capital	
requirement	
S&P
Regulatory	surplus	arising	
in	the	year	
Change	in	target	capital	
requirement	
Increase/(decrease)	in	policy-		
holder	funds	cover	for	target	
capital	requirement	
PL
Regulatory	surplus	arising	
in	the	year	
Change	in	target	capital	
requirement	
39.5		
20.4
(0.1	)	
3.2
3.7		
25.1		
1
(0.8)		
4.3
1.5		
(0.5	)
4.3		
2.8		
0.2		
1.4		
Movestic
Additional	capital	contributions	
–		
–		
Chesnara
Cash	utilised	by	operations	
(8.3	)	
(4.4)	
Total gross cash generation 
42.6  
49.7 
Items affecting ability to 
distribute cash
Synergistic	effects	of	
Part	VII	transfer	
PL	capital	injection	
Release	of	capital	from	
S&P	WP	fund	
Restricted	surplus	in	
S&P	WP	fund	
27.4		
–		
–		
–		
(13.1	)	
15.5		
1.1		
(15.4	)	
Net cash generation 
available for distribution 
71.1  
36.7  
2
3
4
4
5
Items affecting the cash available for distribution:
Note 1 – The S&P regulatory surplus is significantly lower than 2013 due 
to the impact of reducing Government bond yields in the year. The regulatory 
profit in 2014 compares with a loss on an IFRS basis. This difference is  
due to differing valuation bases, largely in respect of products that contain 
options and guarantees.
Note 2 – The Part VII transfer of the PL business into CA plc on  
31 December 2014 has released £27.4m of cash that would otherwise 
have been unavailable.  There is a further £3.5m of capital that will be 
released in 2015 when the company is de-regulated.
Note 3 – In 2013, PL was acquired at a solvency level lower than the target 
requirement. An immediate capital injection was made which had a 
one-off negative impact on cash available for distribution. This short term 
cash strain has been reversed during 2014 as a result of the cash benefit of 
the Part VII transfer, as highlighted in note 2 above.
Note 4 – An element of the statutory surplus in the year emerges in the  
S&P WP fund. In the absence of management action the majority of the 
surplus is not available for distribution and the net cash generated recognises  
this restriction. Periodically Chesnara, with regulatory approval, can apply a 
waiver to release some of the previously restricted surplus within S&P. This 
process was undertaken during 2013 resulting in a £15.5m capital release. 
Note 5 – The net cash generation KPI is a useful indicator of the dividend 
paying capacity of the Group’s regulated subsidiaries. This is monitored 
closely by Management as cash generated by the Group’s regulated 
subsidiaries is used by the Chesnara Parent Company for corporate 
transactions such as the servicing of debt, payments of dividends and the 
funding of future acquisitions. It should be noted that this KPI is quite distinct 
from the Group’s Cash Flow Statement as included in the Group’s IFRS 
Financial Statements, which is intended to reflect the movement in cash 
held by Chesnara and its subsidiaries but does not reflect that most of the 
subsidiary cash balances are held in regulated insurance funds and are 
therefore not available for use by the Parent Company.
34
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT 
		
		
		
		
		
EEV EARNINGS
  £44.2 M 2013: £82.7m*
*excluding modelling adjustments 
Summary
2014 has delivered a significant EEV result for the Group, with 
a strong operating profit supplemented by value emerging 
from the impact of economic conditions. The 2014 result is, 
however, lower when compared with the prior year, largely 
due to the significant profits arising from investment and 
economic conditions in 2013 not being repeated to the same 
level during 2014. Whilst we have reported an overall 
economic profit during the year, it is not as strong as 2013, 
largely due to UK equity performance being slightly negative 
in 2014, coupled with a significant reduction in UK 
Government bond yields. Swedish equities have performed 
slightly better than the UK, although their impact on the UK 
results is slightly diminished by the weakening of the Krona 
against Sterling in the year.
Off-setting the reduced economic profits in the year are 
strong operating profits on covered business, amounting to 
£37.5m (2013: £8.9m). Further detail has been provided 
below, although the key drivers are an increase in shareholder 
returns on net worth, which is driven by UK Government bond 
value appreciation in the year, coupled with c£12m of positive 
operating assumption changes, largely in the CA segment 
(see further detail on page 35).
The following tables analyse the Group EEV earnings after-tax 
by source and by business segment:
Profit after tax movement 
Year ended 31 December 2013 to year ended  
31 December 2014 (£m)
	 Dec	2013	
	 Negative	movements	
	 Positive	movements	
	 Dec	2014
Analysis of the EEV result in the year by earnings source
New	business	contribution	
Return	from	in-force	business
Expected	return	
Experience	variances	
Operating	assumption	changes	
Return	on	shareholder	net	worth	
2014  
£m  
2013
£m
9.7		
7.9
7.1		
0.6		
11.0		
9.1		
5.5	
5.8
(10.0	)
(0.3	)
Operating profit of covered business 
Variation	from	longer	term		
investment	return	
Effect	of	economic	assumption	changes	
37.5  
8.9
32.0		
(7.4	)	
54.7	
16.4
Profit on covered business before tax  
and before gain on acquisition 
Tax	
62.0  
(12.2	)	
80.0
(7.6	)
Profit on covered business after tax  
and before gain on acquisition 
Gain	on	acquisition	of	PL	Ltd	
Uncovered	business	and	other		
group	activities	
Tax	on	uncovered	business	
49.8  
–		
(7.3	)	
1.7		
72.4
12.3			
(2.3	)
0.3
Profit after tax 
44.2  
82.7
Economic conditions
The EEV result is sensitive to economic conditions. Economic 
experience and assumption changes contributed a profit of  
£24.6m in 2014 compared with a profit of £71.1m in the prior year.  
Key economic condition highlights are as follows:
–  The FTSE All share has fallen by 2.1% during 2014, compared  
  with a rise of 16.7% in 2013
–  The Swedish OMX all share has increased by 11.9% during the 
  year, compared with a 23.2% increase in the prior year
–  10 year gilt yields have reduced by 1.2% in year, compared with 
  an increase of 1.26% in 2013.
These conditions have led to a large reduction in the EEV 
economic profits during the year. The following table analyses  
the economic conditions impact by segment:
12 .0
(56.9)
25.4
82.7
Economic experience and  
assumption changes 
(12 .3)
(3.2)
(2 . 5)
(1.0)
44.2
CA	
S&P	
PL	
Movestic	
2013
CA
Movestic
S&P
Profit	on
purchase	of	PL
Tax
Chesnara
PL
2014
Total 
2014  
£m  
2013
£m
16.2		
(11.7	)	
1.6		
18.5		
18.7
33.9	
–
18.4
24.6  
71.1
Analysis of the EEV result in the year by  
business segment
2014  
£m  
2013
£m
CA	
S&P	
PL	
Movestic	
Chesnara	
50.0		
(14.2	)	
(0.9	)	
27.5		
(7.7	)	
Profit before tax and gain on acquisition 
Gain	on	acquisition	of	PL	Ltd	
54.7  
	–	
Profit before tax 
Tax	
54.7  
(10.5	)	
24.5
42.7
0.1	
15.5
(5.1	)
77.7
12.3
90.0
(7.3	)
Profit after tax 
44.2  
82.7
The CA segment has benefited from a number of positive items in the 
period, the most significant being the impact of investment returns in  
the year, driven by Government bond values increasing (c£14m) and  
the positive impact of tax gains of c£5m. Off-setting this are negative 
economic assumption changes of c£5m.
The S&P segment reported a loss as a result of prevailing economic 
conditions. This is almost exclusively due to the impact that the 
reduction in Government bond yields in the year has had on the reserves 
required for those products which contain options and guarantees.
PL has reported positive economic profits in the year. This is largely 
due to the positive impact that increasing bond values has had on this 
segment during the year.
Movestic is sensitive to movements in equity markets, largely due to 
its core income stream being dependent upon management charges 
generated from policyholders. These management charges are based 
on the level of funds under management, which are primarily equity 
invested. Strong equity returns in Sweden have driven this positive 
change in EEV over the year.
35
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B 
 
		
	
	
 
 
The S&P segment has reported a negative operating 
assumption change in the period. As referred to above, the 
main item that contributes to this a £4.2m strain arising 
from the modelling of the new HCL outsource contract.
The PL segment has reported an operating assumption 
change loss of £2.9m. This is as a result of a number  
of items, the most significant being the impact of new 
expense assumptions which capture additional central 
costs that were not allocated in the prior year.
Movestic has reported an operating assumption change 
loss of £5.2m in the year. This is driven by the need to 
increase the maintenance cost assumptions at the end of 
the year, resulting in an adverse impact of £3.4m.
Gain on acquisition of PL Ltd
The EEV result in 2013 benefitted from the impact of 
one-off gain of £12.3m arising from the purchase of PL Ltd.
Uncovered business and other group activities
Chesnara	
Movestic	
Total 
2014  
£m  
2013
£m
(7.7	)	
0.3		
(5.0	)
2.7
(7.4 ) 
(2.3 )
The Chesnara segment of the uncovered business relates 
to Chesnara parent company costs, such as corporate 
governance and business development, that are not 
attributable to the covered business. The increase in costs 
when compared with 2013 largely relates to the costs 
associated with the Part VII transfer of the PL business into 
CA plc. Both 2013 and 2014 include similar amounts of 
costs associated with acquisition activities, being the Waard 
Group in 2014 and the purchase of PL Ltd in 2013.
The Movestic result contains a number of components which 
are not modelled on an EEV basis. The main component  
is the Life and Health business, which has reported a profit  
of £0.4m during 2014, £1.8m lower than the prior year  
profit of £2.2m (see page 33 for further detail). In addition  
the Movestic segment includes the impact of financial 
reinsurance valuation movements and the results of Movestic’s 
associate business, Modernac.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
36
EEV EARNINGS (CONTINUED)
New business contribution
The new business contribution relates primarily to the 
Movestic Pensions and Savings business. Movestic also 
writes Risk and Health policies, but due to its more 
short-term nature the Risk and Health business is reported 
as uncovered business and hence does not contribute to 
the new business result. Movestic has contributed £8.9m 
(2013: £7.2m) of the £9.7m (2013: £7.9m) new business 
profits. This is made up of profit on brand new contracts of 
£6.0m (2013: £4.5m) coupled with £2.9m (2013: £2.7m) 
which is attributable to increments on policies that were in 
force at the start of the year. The reason for the increase  
in new contract profits is as a result of a notable increase  
in the margins on new products, coupled with slightly higher 
volumes of new policies sold year on year.
Experience variances
CA	
S&P	
PL	
Movestic	
Total 
2014  
£m  
2013
£m
6.1		
(4.8	)	
(0.7	)	
(0.1	)	
7.6	
4.7
–
(6.5	)
0.5  
5.8
The CA segment has reported positive experience variances 
in the year. This is predominately due to positive lapse 
experience, which has benefitted the EEV result by c£5m. 
Off-setting this, the S&P segment has reported experience 
losses of £4.8m, the majority of which is due to better than 
expected policy attrition, resulting in additional strain arising 
from the reserves that are held to cover the associated  
policy options and guarantees. The PL result is driven by the 
allocation of additional central costs to the segment in  
the period. Regarding the Swedish business, it has reported  
a small negative experience in 2014. This is made up of a 
number of items, the most significant being positive lapse and 
transfers experience of c£2.3m, off-set by adverse expense 
variance of c£2.6m. The expense variance in the year has 
resulted in Movestic re-assessing its expense assumptions, 
leading to a small strengthening at the end of the year (see 
“Operating assumption changes” section below).
Operating assumption changes
CA	
S&P	
PL	
Movestic	
Total 
2014  
£m  
2013
£m
23.7		
(4.6	)	
(2.9	)	
(5.2	)	
(4.3	)
4.5
–
(10.2	)
11.0  
(10.0 )
The CA segment has reported a strong assumption change 
profit in the year. This is primarily due to a one off positive 
item of £17.3m arising from a change around how the 
assumptions for future bonus units that are allocated to 
policyholders are determined. The EEV impact of this 
assumption change is higher than IFRS due to the positive 
impact on the VIF, an asset that is not recognised for IFRS 
reporting purposes. In addition to this the CA segment has 
benefited from the positive impact of the new HCL contract, 
amounting to £4.2m. An equal and opposite effect can be 
seen in the S&P segment.
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN EMBEDDED VALUE
  £417.2M 2013: £376.4m 
EEV movement 31 December 2013 to  
31 December 2014 (£m): 
	 Dec	2013	
	 Negative	movements	
	 Positive	movements	
	 Dec	2014
Summary
The EEV of the Chesnara Group represents the present 
value of the estimated future profits of the Group plus an 
adjusted net asset value. Movements between different 
periods are a function of the following components:
34.6
(17.3)
–  Net of tax profit arising in the period, pre exceptional items;
–  Exceptional items, such as:
(20.7 )
(20.7)
417.2
–  The impact of raising new equity;
– the surpluses arising on acquisitions; and
– Modelling adjustments;
 376.4
E
E
V
2
0
1
3
44.2
N
e
t
o
f
t
a
x
p
r
o
fi
t
a
r
i
s
i
n
g
i
n
t
h
e
p
e
r
i
o
d
*
a
c
q
u
i
s
i
t
i
o
n
E
q
u
i
t
y
r
a
i
s
e
d
f
o
r
F
o
r
e
i
g
n
e
x
c
h
a
n
g
e
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
m
o
v
e
m
e
n
t
E
E
V
2
0
1
4
D
i
v
i
d
e
n
d
s
p
a
i
d
EEV movement 31 December 2012 to  
31 December 2013 (£m):
4.1
(1.4)
12 .3
70.4
(20.1)
(20.7)
376.4
  311.1
E
E
V
2
0
1
2
N
e
t
o
f
t
a
x
p
r
o
fi
t
a
r
i
s
i
n
g
i
n
t
h
e
p
e
r
i
o
d
*
o
n
a
c
q
u
i
s
i
t
i
o
n
E
x
c
e
p
t
i
o
n
a
l
s
u
r
p
u
s
l
j
a
d
u
s
t
m
e
n
t
s
E
f
f
e
c
t
o
f
m
o
d
e
l
l
i
n
g
F
o
r
e
i
g
n
e
x
c
h
a
n
g
e
r
e
s
e
r
v
e
m
o
v
e
m
e
n
t
E
E
V
2
0
1
3
D
i
v
i
d
e
n
d
s
p
a
i
d
	 Dec	2012	
	 Negative	movements	
	 Positive	movements	
	 Dec	2013
*Stated before exceptional items
–  Foreign exchange movements arising from retranslating 
the EEV of Movestic into Sterling; and
–  Dividends that are paid in the year.
More detail behind each of these components has been 
provided below:
Net of tax profit
The EEV profit arising during the year is analysed in more 
detail within the preceding section.
Equity raised for acquisition
During November 2014 we announced the acquisition of the 
Waard Group in the Netherlands for €67.8m. To finance  
the deal we raised £34.5m of equity through a well 
supported share placing exercise. With a Euro-denominated 
purchase price, to mitigate the downside risk of a 
strengthening Euro the capital raised was converted to Euros 
at the time of the capital raise.
Exceptional surplus on acquisition
The purchase of PL Ltd during 2013 resulted in an acquisition 
surplus of £12.3m. The surplus arose because the EEV of 
PL Ltd at the acquisition date amounted to £51.6m, which is 
£12.3m higher than the purchase price of £39.3m.
Effect of modelling adjustments
Year ended 31 December 2014
There were no modelling adjustments during the year.
Year ended 31 December 2013
Positive modelling adjustments during 2013 of £4.1m related 
entirely to the Movestic business. These arose due to 
refinements being made to the way in which commissions 
were modelled.
Foreign exchange reserve movements
The £17.3m foreign exchange reserve movement during 2014 
has arisen as a result of a significant weakening of the 
Swedish Krona against Sterling by 14% since the end of 2013.
Dividends paid
Dividends of £20.7m were paid during 2014, being the final 
dividend from 2013 of £13.3m and the interim dividend from 
2014 of £7.4m.
37
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
FINANCIAL 
REVIEW
EUROPEAN EMBEDDED VALUE (CONTINUED)
Analysis of EEV 
The information on this page provides some further analysis of the EEV of the Group, both in terms of the split between 
different operating segments and also the split between the adjusted shareholder net worth and the value of the in-force (VIF) 
business. The adjusted shareholder net worth represents the IFRS net worth of the Group, but adjusted for items that are 
measured differently under EEV measurement rules and the VIF represents Management’s best estimate of the present value 
of the future profits that will arise out of each book of business.
EEV – Value in force (VIF) and adjusted shareholder net worth (SNW) 
(£m)
417.2
243.7
173.5
376.4
262.2
311.1
210.0
114.2
101.1
31	Dec	2014
31	Dec	2013
31	Dec	2012
	 Total	EEV						 		VIF						 	 SNW	
Analysis of VIF at 31 December 2014 - £243.7m
Analysis of EEV at 31 December 2014 - £417.2m
146
67
Movestic
CA
12
S&P
19
PL
128
148
61
Movestic
CA
S&P
63
PL
17
Other Group 
Activities
In the above segmental analysis any outstanding  
debt in relation to the S&P and PL acquisitions is  
included in “Other Group Activities”.
Highlights 
–  There is a good balance in EEV across the core business 
–  There is a significant level of product diversification 
segments, with the UK businesses representing  
the majority (65%) of the total EEV, which includes the 
supplementary addition of the PL business last year.  
The value in-force component is dominated by the 
Swedish business which represents 61% of the total 
Group VIF.
within the VIF. When adjusted to recognise the impact 
of the S&P cost of guarantees which are 
predominantly pension contract related, 64.0% of the 
total product level value in-force relates to pension 
contracts, 23.5% to protection business and 10.3%  
to endowments.
–  The Group EEV includes £17.1m in “Other Group 
Activities” which includes the £34.5m equity raised 
through a share placing to finance the acquisition of  
the Waard Group.
38
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORTAnalysis of VIF by policy type 
The tables below set out the value of in-force business by major product line at each year end. Analysis of the composition of 
the VIF by business and major product category provides a useful insight into the commercial dynamics underpinning the value 
of Chesnara.
31 December 2014  
Number of policies 
Value of in-force business
CA  
000’s  
S&P  
000’s  
PL   Movestic  
000’s  
000’s  
Total  
000’s  
Endowment	
Protection	
Annuities	
Pensions	
Other	
29		
36		
6		
37		
2		
3		
4		
–		
115		
10		
–		
136		
–		
–		
–		
Total at product level 
110  
132  
136  
10		
–		
–		
88		
–		
98  
Valuation	adjustments:
Holding	company
expenses	
Other	
Cost	of	capital/	
frictional	costs	
Value in-force pre-tax 
Taxation	
Value in-force post-tax 
Endowment	
Protection	
Annuities	
Pensions	
Other	
33		
39		
6		
39		
3		
4		
5		
–		
120		
11		
–		
146		
–		
–		
–		
Total at product level 
120  
140  
146  
11		
–		
–		
82		
–		
93  
Valuation	adjustments:
Holding	company
expenses	
Other	
Cost	of	capital/
frictional	costs	
Value in-force pre-tax 
Taxation	
Value in-force post-tax 
CA  
£m  
19.0		
45.8		
4.6		
37.8		
2.2		
S&P  
£m  
4.1		
2.4		
0.6		
39.1		
4.2		
PL   Movestic  
£m  
£m  
Total
£m
–		
23.2		
–		
–		
–		
8.3		
–		
–		
147.0		
–		
31.4	
71.4	
5.2
223.9
6.4
42		
176		
6		
240		
12		
476  
109.4  
50.4  
23.2  
155.3  
338.3
(6.4	)	
(12.4	)	
(3.0	)	
(34.6	)	
(1.4	)	
–		
(9.1	)	
–		
(19.9	)
(47.0	)	
(1.1	)	
(1.3	)	
(2.8)		
(0.1	)	
(5.3	)
89.5  
(22.4	)	
67.1  
11.5  
–		
11.5  
19.0  
–		
146.1  
–		
266.1
(22.4	)
19.0  
146.1  
243.7
CA  
£m  
24.1		
46.2		
4.0		
29.7		
3.9		
S&P  
£m  
2.9		
3.9		
1.1		
44.6		
4.9		
PL   Movestic  
£m  
£m  
–		
36.0		
–		
–		
–		
8.0		
–		
–		
140.0		
–		
Total
£m
35.0
86.1
5.1
214.3
8.8
48		
190		
6		
241		
14		
499  
107.9  
57.4  
36.0  
148.0  
349.3
(6.5	)	
(16.5	)	
(1.0	)	
83.9  
(16.7	)	
(3.4	)	
(21.2	)	
(2.3	)	
30.5  
–		
–		
–		
(8.9	)	
–		
(18.8	)
(37.7	)
(4.0	)	
32.0  
(6.5	)	
(0.1	)	
(7.4	)
139.0  
–		
285.4
(23.2	)
67.2  
30.5  
25.5  
139.0  
262.2
31 December 2013  
Number of policies 
Value of in-force business
CA  
000’s  
S&P  
000’s  
PL   Movestic  
000’s  
000’s  
Total  
000’s  
The	policy	numbers	in	the	table	at	31	December	2013	have	been	restated	to	capture	a	change	in	the	definition	of	a	policy,	following	
on	from	the	migration	of	some	actuarial	services	to	Towers	Watson.	Whilst	the	change	in	policy	numbers	is	not	significant	using	
the	new	definition,	not	adjusting	would	have	meant	that	the	movement	in	policy	numbers	in	the	year	would	have	been	misleading.
The value-in-force represents the discounted value of the 
future surpluses arising from the insurance and investment 
contracts in force at each respective year end. The future 
surpluses are calculated by using realistic assumptions for 
each component of the cash flows.
Holding company expenses are apportioned across the 
segments pro-rata to the total product-based VIF.
’Other’ valuation adjustments in CA principally comprise 
expenses for managing policies which are not attributed at 
product level. In S&P they represent the estimated cost of 
guarantees to with-profits policyholders.
Taxation in the value-in-force is modelled on a combined  
CA and S&P basis and, in the analysis above, is attributed 
wholly to the CA segment.
39
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B 
 
 
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
  
  
  
  
  
		
		
		
		
		
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
  
  
  
  
  
		
		
		
		
		
  
  
  
  
  
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
The Group’s financial management framework is designed 
to provide security for all stakeholders, while meeting the 
expectations of policyholders and shareholders. 
The	following	diagram	illustrates	the	aims,	approach	and	outcomes	from	the	financial	management	framework:
OBJECTIVES
The Group’s financial management framework is designed to provide security for all stakeholders,  
while meeting the expectations of policyholders, shareholders and regulators. Accordingly we:
Maintain		
solvency	targets
Meet	the	dividend	
expectations		
of	shareholders
Optimise	the	
gearing	ratio	to	
ensure	an	efficient	
capital	base
Maintain	the	Group	
as	a	going	concern
Ensure	there	is	
sufficient	liquidity		
to	meet	obligations		
to	policyholders,	
debt	financiers		
and	creditors
HOW WE DELIVER OUR OBJECTIVES 
In order to meet our obligations we employ and undertake a number of methods. These are centred on:
1.	Monitor	and	control	risk	&	solvency
2.	Longer-term	projections
3.	 Responsible	investment	management
OUTCOMES
Key outcomes from our financial management process, in terms of meeting our objectives, are set out below:
1. SOLVENCY
2. SHAREHOLDER 
RETURNS
3. CAPITAL STRUCTURE
4. LIQUIDITY AND 
POLICYHOLDER 
RETURNS
5. MAINTAIN THE 
GROUP AS A GOING 
CONCERN
Group	Solvency	
Ratio	of	284%
2014	TSR	11%
2014	dividend		
yield	5.4%
Based	on	share	price	as	at		
31	December	2014	of	339.25p	
and	full	year	2014	dividend		
of	18.4p.
Gearing	ratio	of	
23.1%	following	
acquisition	of	PL
This	does	not	include	the	
financial	reinsurance	that		
is	held	within	the	Swedish	
business.
Competitive	fund	
performance
Group	remains	a	
going	concern
Policyholders’	
realistic	
expectations	
maintained
(see	Directors’	
Report	pages	83		
to	84)
40
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORTHOW WE DELIVER OUR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES
1. MONITOR AND CONTROL RISK  
AND SOLVENCY
2. LONGER-TERM PROJECTIONS
3. RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT 
MANAGEMENT
The	Board	sets	internal	solvency	
targets	that	are	based	on	
solvency	requirements	imposed	
by	our	regulators.	The	targets	are	
set	with	the	intention	of	balancing	
the	requirements	of	both	our	
shareholders	and	policyholders.
i)  a Pillar	1	calculation,	which		
compares	regulatory	capital		
resource	requirements,	based		
on	the	characteristics	of	the		
in-force	life	business,	with	an		
associated	measure	of	capital		
as	prescribed	by	regulation;		
and
ii)  a Pillar	2	calculation	which		
compares	a	risk-based		 	
assessment	of	solvency			
capital	with	an	associated		
	 measure	of	capital	based	on		
a	realistic	assessment	of		
insurance	liabilities;	and
iii)  the	amount	of	required		 	
regulatory	solvency	capital	is		
then	determined	by	the			
	 method	which	gives	rise	to		
the	lower	excess	of	regulatory		
capital	over	requirements.	
These	calculations	are		
monitored	regularly.
Long-term projections are performed covering,  
as a minimum:
i) 
 Segmental	earnings	and	surplus	arising	in		
the	long-term	insurance	funds;
ii)  Chesnara	holding	company	cash	flows;
iii)   Regulatory	solvency	and	capital	resources		
and	requirements;	and
iv)   European	embedded	value.
The	projections	are	prepared	for	a	base	case,		
using	latest	board-approved	assumptions,		
and	for	various	individual	and	multiple	economic	
and	non-economic	sensitivities.
In addition:
Financial	condition	reports	are	prepared	on	an	
annual	basis	which	includes	assessments	of		
the	ability	of	the	business	to	withstand	key		
adverse	events,	including	increased	rates	of		
policy	lapse,	expense	overruns	and	unfavourable	
market	conditions.
Reverse	stress	testing	techniques	are	employed	
which	assess	events	and	circumstances	which	
would	cause	the	business	to	become	unviable.		
In	this	context,	unviable	is	defined	as	the	point	at	
which	the	market	loses	confidence	in	the	firm	being	
able	to	carry	out	its	normal	business	activities.
Investment management
We	aim	to	promote	customer	
retention	by	pursuing	good	
relative	investment	performance	
across	both	our	UK	and		
Swedish	businesses.
We	use	third	party	investment	
managers	in	both	the	UK	and	
Sweden.	They	are	charged	with	
operating	within	pre-determined	
guidelines	which	are	set	having	
regard	to	the	nature	of	the	fund	
and	to	contractual	obligations	to	
policyholders.	For	the	with-profits	
funds	these	are	also	in	
accordance	with	the	published	
Principles	and	Practices	of	
Financial	Management.	In	
Sweden	a	larger	number	of	fund	
managers	are	used,	which 		
are	subject	to	very	stringent 		
initial	selection	and	ongoing 	
monitoring	criteria.
A	conservative	approach	to		
the	investment	of	shareholders’	
funds	is	also	adopted	within		
the	Group.	
41
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT  (CONTINUED)
  Throughout 2014 and up to 25 March 2015 there has been 
a general appreciation in the share price, having increased 
by 10% from 321.75p per share at 1 January 2014 to 
355.0p per share at 25 March 2015. The combined impact 
of the share price growth throughout 2014 and the 
continuing attractive dividends means shareholders have 
achieved strong total shareholder return.
  3. Capital structure
  The Group’s UK operations are financed through a 
combination of retained earnings and debt finance. Surplus 
emerging from the UK business is used:
to repay our debt obligations; 
i) 
ii)  to support dividend distributions to shareholders; and
iii)   to support the medium-term requirements of 
Movestic to meet regulatory solvency capital 
requirements as it expands.
  The borrowings in place that part-finance the UK 
operations arose as follows:
–  S&P, which was purchased in December 2010 for £63.5m, 
was accomplished by way of debt: equity financing broadly 
in a ratio of 2:1.
–  PL, which was acquired in November 2013 for £39.3m, 
was funded using a combination of debt and existing cash 
resources. The process for raising the debt to fund  
the purchase of PL also gave rise to a restructuring of the 
existing facilities that were initially arranged to fund the 
purchase of S&P. The result is that, at 31 December 2014 
bank borrowings amounted to £64.3m. This is a five year 
loan that has four years remaining.
  The purchase of Movestic was financed by internal cash 
resources. On an ongoing basis the Movestic business  
is financed by a combination of external financial 
reinsurance arrangements and capital contributions from 
Chesnara, if required.
  With respect to acquisitions the Group seeks to finance 
these through a suitable mix of debt, existing cash 
resources, and equity, within the constraints imposed by 
the operation of regulatory rules over the level of debt 
finance which may be borne by Insurance Groups without 
breaching solvency requirements. 
  Other factors which may place a demand on capital resources 
in the future include the costs of unavoidable large  
scale systems developments such as those which may be 
involved with changing regulatory requirements. To the 
extent that ongoing administration of the UK life businesses 
is performed within the terms of its third-party outsourcing 
agreements, the Group is sheltered, to a degree, from these 
development costs as they are likely to be on a shared basis.
OUTCOMES FROM IMPLEMENTING OUR 
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES
Key outcomes from our financial management process, in 
terms of meeting our objectives are set out below: 
1. Solvency
The solvency and regulatory capital of the Group and its 
regulated subsidiaries is monitored regularly. Further detail 
of the year end solvency positions has been summarised in 
the Business Review on page 25.
2. Shareholder returns
  The Board’s primary aim is to provide an attractive dividend 
flow to its shareholders. With Movestic in its growth phase, 
shareholder dividend flows are currently generated by CA plc, 
by way of the emergence of surpluses in, and transfer of 
surpluses from, its long-term insurance funds to shareholder 
funds and by the return on shareholder net assets.
  Dividend flows from CA plc to Chesnara are utilised in the first 
instance for the repayment and servicing of debt, coupled 
with bearing central corporate governance costs which cannot 
be fairly attributed to the long-term insurance funds, and 
which arise largely in connection with Chesnara’s obligations 
as a listed company.
  Returns to shareholders can be assessed by reference to 
many measures including the actual share price, the yields  
on the shares and the comparison of total market capital to 
embedded value. The graphs below illustrate:
– how the EEV per share has compared with the share price 
over recent years, up to 31 December 2014; and
– the dividend growth per share over this same period.
EEV per share versus share price:
	 EEV	per	share	(p)				 	Share	price	(p)
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
9
0
c
e
D
0
1
r
a
M
0
1
n
u
J
0
1
p
e
S
0
1
c
e
D
1
1
r
a
M
1
1
n
u
J
1
1
p
e
S
1
1
c
e
D
2
1
r
a
M
2
1
n
u
J
2
1
p
e
S
2
1
c
e
D
3
1
r
a
M
3
1
n
u
J
3
1
p
e
S
3
1
c
e
D
4
1
n
u
J
4
1
p
e
S
4
1
c
e
D
Dividends (pence per share):
16.40
16.85
17.35
17.88
18.40
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
42
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
  4. Liquidity and policyholder returns
  Key aspects of policyholder fund performance in respect  
of the UK Business and in respect of the Swedish Business 
are set out in the Business Review.
  The current profile and mix of investment asset holdings 
between fixed-interest securities and cash deposits is such 
that realisations to meet obligations to third parties and  
to support dividend distributions can be made in an orderly 
and efficient way.
  5. Maintain the Group as a going concern
  The Group’s cash flow position, together with the return on 
financial assets in the parent company, supports the ability 
to trade in the short term. Accordingly, the underlying 
solvency position of the UK life business and its ongoing 
ability to generate surpluses which support cash transfers 
to shareholders’ funds is critical to the ongoing ability of  
the Group to continue trading and to meet its obligations  
as they fall due. 
  The information set out on page 25 indicates a strong solvency 
position as at 31 December 2014 as measured at both  
the individual regulated life company levels in both the UK 
and Sweden and at the Group level. In addition, in respect  
of the UK business, the financial condition report and 
reverse stress testing assessments indicate that it is able  
to withstand the impact of adverse scenarios, including the 
effect of significant investment market falls, while  
the business’s outsourcing arrangements protect it from 
significant expense overruns.
  The Group is well capitalised, and has a healthy level of cash 
reserves to be able to meet its debt obligations as they fall 
due. The Group does not rely on the renewal or extension 
of bank facilities to continue trading – indeed, as indicated, 
its day to day operations are cash generative. The Group 
does, however, rely on cash flow from the maturity or sale 
of fixed interest securities which match certain obligations 
to policyholders, which brings with it the risk of bond default. 
In order to manage this risk we ensure that our bond 
portfolio is actively monitored and well diversified. Other 
significant counterparty default risk relates to our principal 
reassurers. We monitor their financial position and are 
satisfied that any associated credit default risk is low. It is 
noteworthy that we have negligible exposure to Euro-
denominated sovereign debt.
In light of the above, our expectation is that the Group will 
continue to generate surplus in its UK long-term business 
sufficient to meet its debt obligations as they fall due,  
to continue to pursue an attractive dividend policy and to 
meet the short-term financing requirements of Movestic.  
The Director’s Report on pages 83 to 84 provides confirmation 
that the IFRS Financial Statements have been prepared  
on the Going Concern basis.
43
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B 
RISK MANAGEMENT
  Risk management processes
  Overlaying all the day-to-day and development activity we 
undertake is a focused risk management culture and regime.
In both the UK and Swedish businesses we maintain 
processes for identifying, evaluating and managing the 
significant risks faced by the Group, which are regularly 
reviewed by the Group Audit & Risk Committee. Our risk 
processes have regard to the significance of risks, the 
likelihood of their occurrence and take account of existing 
controls and the cost of mitigating them. The processes are 
designed to manage rather than eliminate risk and, as such, 
provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against loss.
  At the subsidiary level in the UK businesses we maintain,  
in accordance with the regulatory requirements of the PRA 
and FCA, a risk and responsibility regime. Accordingly,  
the identification, assessment and control of risk are firmly 
embedded within the organisation and the procedures  
for the monitoring and updating of risk are robust. As part of 
this we have a Risk Committee in CA plc, which comprises 
solely of Non-executive Directors. This Committee receives 
quarterly updates of the key risk registers, as maintained  
by the senior management, for review and challenge. The 
Committee reports directly to the CA plc Board which  
also reviews reports from the compliance and internal audit 
functions. The Chesnara plc Group risk register is  
updated on a quarterly basis for any material changes in the 
CA plc risk register, which is then presented to the 
Chesnara Audit & Risk Committee. Since its acquisition similar 
arrangements have been established for PL Ltd. The key  
risk registers have been designed to complement the 
production of Individual Capital Assessments, which we are 
required to submit to the PRA on request and maintain on 
an ongoing basis. We categorise all risks against the 
following relevant categories – insurance, market, credit, 
liquidity, operational and Group – and identify potential 
exposures and the necessary capital requirements accordingly.
In the Swedish business, at the Movestic subsidiary level, 
there is full compliance with the regulatory requirement in 
that its Board and Managing Director have responsibility for 
ensuring that the management of the organisation is 
characterised by sound internal control, which is responsive 
to internal and external risks and changes in them. The 
Board has responsibility for ensuring that there is an internal 
control risk function, which is charged with (i) ensuring that 
there is information which provides a comprehensive and 
objective representation of the risks within the organisation 
and (ii) proposing changes in processes and documentation 
regarding risk management. These obligations are 
evidenced by regular compliance, internal audit, general risk 
and financial risk reports to the Movestic Board. The  
latter is supplemented by quarterly returns to the Swedish 
regulator, Finansinspektionen, which set out estimated 
capital requirements in respect of insurance, market, credit, 
liquidity, currency and operational risks.
  Risk management processes are enhanced by stress and 
scenario testing, which evaluates the impact on the  
Group of certain adverse events occurring separately or in 
combination. There is a strong correlation between these 
adverse events and the risks identified in ‘principal risks and 
uncertainties’ below. The outcome of this testing provides 
context against which the Group can assess whether any 
changes to its risk management processes are required.
  Group and subsidiary auditors regularly report to 
management on identified control weaknesses together 
with suggested improvements.
  We are currently reviewing and upgrading our risk 
management processes, so that Group-wide they will be 
enhanced in a uniform and consistent manner, embracing:
– articulation of risk appetite statements, following from 
  documented strategic objectives;
– formulation and monitoring of associated risk metrics; 
– risk identification and assessment;
– calculation of risk-based capital; and
– the embedding of risk management processes so that 
  they are at the forefront of, and underpin, strategic and 
  operating decisions.
  These developments have continued during 2014 and are 
planned to continue during 2015 and into 2016.
Principal risks and uncertainties
Risks and uncertainties are assessed by reference 
to the extent to which they threaten, or 
potentially threaten, the ability of the Group to 
meet its core strategic objectives. These currently 
centre on the intention of the Group to maintain 
an attractive dividend policy. 
The specific principal risks and uncertainties subsisting 
within the Group are determined by the fact that:
i) 
 the Group’s core operations centre on the run-off 
of closed life and pensions businesses in the UK;
ii)  notwithstanding this, the Group has a material 
segment, which comprises an open life and 
pensions business operating in a foreign 
jurisdiction; and
iii) these businesses are subject to local regulation, 
  which significantly influences the amount of 
capital which they are required to retain and 
  which may otherwise constrain the conduct of 
business. 
44
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The following identifies the principal risks and uncertainties, together with a description of 
their actual or potential impact and of the way in which the Group seeks to control these risks. 
The table below is based on the Chesnara Group at 31 December 2014. The acquisition of 
the Waard Group, as discussed on page 24 will result in a requirement for the following list of 
principal risks and uncertainties being reviewed. 
PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
Risk
Impact
Control
Adverse mortality/ 
morbidity/longevity 
experience
To the extent that actual mortality or morbidity rates 
vary from the assumptions underlying product pricing, 
so more or less profit will accrue to the Group.
–   Effective underwriting techniques and  
reinsurance programmes.
–  Option on certain contracts to vary premium rates in the 
light of actual experience.
–  Partial risk diversification in that the Group has a portfolio 
of annuity contracts where the benefits cease on death.
Adverse persistency 
experience
Persistency rates significantly lower than those 
assumed will lead to reduced Group profitability in the 
medium to long-term. 
–  Active investment management to ensure competitive 
policyholder investment funds.
–  Outsourcer service levels ensure strong customer  
service standards.
–   Customer retention processes.
–   Close monitoring of persistency levels across all groups 
of business 
Expense overruns  
and unsustainable 
unit cost growth
Significant and 
prolonged equity 
market falls
For the closed UK life and pensions businesses, the 
Group is exposed to the impact of fixed and semi-fixed 
expenses, in conjunction with a diminishing policy base, 
on profitability. For the Swedish open life and pensions 
business, the Group is exposed to the impact of 
expense levels varying adversely from those assumed 
in product pricing.
–  For the UK businesses, the Group pursues a strategy of 
outsourcing functions with charging structures such  
that the policy administration cost is sensitive to book run 
off to the fullest extent possible.
–  The Swedish operations assume growth through new 
business such that the general unit cost trend is positive.
–  For both the UK and Swedish businesses, the Group 
maintains a strict regime of budgetary control.
A significant part of the Group’s income and, therefore, 
overall profitability derives from fees received in 
respect of the management of policyholder and investor 
funds. Fee levels are generally related to the value  
of funds under management and, as the managed 
investment funds overall comprise a significant equity 
content, the Group is particularly exposed to the impact 
of significant and prolonged equity market falls, which 
may lead to policyholders switching to lower-margin, 
fixed-interest funds.
–    Individual fund mandates may give rise to a degree  
of diversification of risk and within those funds, hedging 
techniques are used where appropriate.
–   Investment management costs fall in line with market  
falls and hence cost savings partially hedge the impact 
on income.
–   There is a wide range of investment funds and managers 
so that there is no significant concentration of risk.
Adverse Sterling: 
Swedish Krona 
exchange  
rate movements 
Exposure to adverse Sterling: Swedish Krona exchange 
rate movements arises from actual planned cash flows 
between the Swedish subsidiary and its UK parent 
company and from the impact on reported IFRS and 
EEV results which are expressed in Sterling. 
–   The Group monitors exchange rate movements and  
the cost of hedging the currency risk on cash flows 
when appropriate.
Counterparty failure
The Group carries significant inherent risk of counterparty 
failure in respect of: 
–  its fixed interest security portfolio; 
–  cash deposits; and 
–  amounts due from reinsurers.
–   Operation of guidelines which limit the level of exposure 
to any one counterparty and which impose limits on 
exposure to credit ratings.
–  In respect of exposure to one major reinsurer, Guardian 
Assurance Limited (‘Guardian’), the Group has a floating 
charge over the reinsurer’s related investment assets, which 
ranks the Group equally with Guardian’s policyholders.
45
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B 
 
 
 
 
RISK MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED)
PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES (CONTINUED) 
Risk
Impact
Control
Adverse movements 
in yields on fixed 
interest securities
Failure of outsourced 
service providers  
to fulfil contractual 
obligations
The Group maintains portfolios of fixed interest securities 
(i) in order to match its insurance contract liabilities,  
in terms of yield and cash flow characteristics, and (ii) 
as an integral part of the investment funds it manages on 
behalf of policyholders and investors. It is exposed to 
mismatch losses arising from a failure to match its 
insurance contract liabilities or from the fact that sharp 
and discrete fixed interest yield movements may not  
be associated fully and immediately with corresponding 
changes in actuarial valuation interest rates.
The Group’s UK life and pensions businesses are heavily 
dependent on outsourced service providers to fulfil a 
significant number of their core functions. In the event 
of failure by any of the service providers to fulfil their 
contractual obligations, in whole or in part, to the requisite 
standards specified in the contracts, the Group may suffer 
loss as its functions degrade. 
Key man dependency
The nature of the Group is such that it relies on a 
number of key individuals who have particular 
knowledge, experience and know how. The Group is, 
accordingly, exposed to the sudden loss of the 
services of these individuals. 
Adverse regulatory 
and legal changes
The Group operates in jurisdictions which are currently 
subject to significant change arising from regulatory  
and legal requirements. These may either be of a local 
nature, or of a wider nature, following from EU-based 
regulation and law. Significant issues which have arisen 
and where there is currently uncertainty as to their full 
impact on the Group include: 
i) 
the implementation of Solvency II  
requirements; and 
ii)  the FCA’s review of legacy business; and
iii)  the changes in pensions legislation planned for  
  April 2015
–   The Group maintains rigorous matching programmes to 
ensure that exposure to mismatching is minimised.
–  Active investment management such that, where 
appropriate, asset mixes will be changed to mitigate the 
potential adverse impact on declines in bond yields.
–  Rigorous service level measures and management 
information flows under its contractual arrangements.
– Continuing and close oversight of the performance of all 
service providers.
–  The supplier relationship management approach is 
conducive to ensuring the outsource arrangements deliver 
to their obligations.
–  Under the terms of the contractual arrangements the 
Group may impose penalties and/or exercise step-in rights 
in the event of specified adverse circumstances.
–  The Group promotes the sharing of know-how and expertise 
to the fullest extent possible.
–  It periodically reviews and assesses staffing levels, and, 
where the circumstances of the Group justify and permit, 
will enhance resource to ensure that know-how and 
expertise is more widely embedded.
–  The Group maintains succession plans and remuneration 
structures which comprise a retention element.
–  The Group complements its internal expertise with 
established relationships with external specialist partners.
The current opinion is that the implementation of Solvency 
II will strengthen the long-term risk management 
environment of Chesnara (as is its intention). 
The Solvency II programme is covered in more detail on the 
next page. The key risks are mitigated as follows:
The Solvency II programme is covered in more detail  
on the next page. The key risks are mitigated as follows:
–   Proposed appointment of an external specialist Quality 
Assurance partner;
–   Dedicated internal resource; and
–   Robust programme governance framework.
  Management continually reviews the potential impact of 
any prospective regulatory changes.
46
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT 
 
 
 
 
 
SOLVENCY 11
Our Solvency II programme 
remains on track for the 
planned implementation date 
of 1 January 2016.
Solvency II is a fundamental review of the capital adequacy 
regime for the European insurance industry. It aims to 
establish a revised set of EU-wide capital requirements and 
risk management standards that will replace the current 
solvency requirements. Solvency II’s primary objective is to 
strengthen policyholder protection by aligning capital 
requirements more closely with the risk profile of the 
company. The regime has a three pillar structure, with each 
pillar governing a different aspect of the Solvency II 
requirements and approach. As well as requiring firms to 
disclose their capital and risk frameworks, the Directive also 
asks firms to demonstrate how and where the requirements 
are embedded in their wider activities. The implementation 
date is 1 January 2016 and we remain confident that our  
SII projects in the UK and Sweden are on target to achieve 
SII-compliance by this date. Solvency II costs across the 
industry are considered to be significant and, for Chesnara, 
we expect to incur additional implementation costs of  
up to £2m during 2015. Our view remains that the 
introduction of Solvency II will not adversely impact the 
Group’s solvency position. 
Chesnara’s approach
Pillar 1
Pillar 1 considers the quantitative requirements of 
the system, including the calculation of technical 
provisions and the rules relating to the calculation  
of the Minimum Capital Requirement (MCR) and  
the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR). Under 
Solvency II there are two prescribed methods for 
assessing an insurer’s SCR; either a Standard 
Formula set by the regulator or an Internal Model 
specific to that insurer and which is subject to 
regulatory approval. Chesnara has opted for the 
Standard Formula approach for CA plc, PL and 
Movestic on the grounds that it is a good fit and 
appropriate for its businesses at the current time. 
However, we will continue to monitor our position 
on the choice of approach as our businesses evolve.
Progress update
All model development for Pillar 1 is materially 
complete and a full dry run for CA, PL and Movestic 
will be carried out in Q2 2015 with the Group, 
consolidated, dry run scheduled for Q3 2015. 
Outputs from these exercises will be subject to 
review and challenge by the respective boards. 
In December 2014, following Board review and 
approval, CA plc provided an assessment of the 
appropriateness of the Standard Formula for its 
business to the PRA whose response is expected 
during Q2 2015. For Movestic, this assessment was 
included as part of its 2014 FLAOR submission.
Pillar 2
Pillar 2 deals with two main areas: firstly, that our businesses have in 
place effective strategies and controls to assess and manage the risks 
it is exposed to and to assess and maintain its solvency capital based 
on its own risk profile and, secondly, that its strategies, controls and 
assessment of its solvency capital are subject to supervisory review. 
This pillar requires us to produce either, an Own Risk and Solvency 
Assessment (ORSA) for each subsidiary and one for the Group or a 
single Group-wide ORSA. We will be producing an ORSA for each 
subsidiary and the Group ORSA. Each ORSA is subject to review and 
scrutiny by the relevant regulator who will have the power to  
impose a higher capital requirement should it find any inadequacies  
in the approach to calculating the SCR or in the risk and governance 
controls in operation.
Progress update
A significant milestone was achieved during 2014 for both CA plc 
and Movestic who each produced a FLAOR (forward-looking 
assessment of own risks) report based on the own risk and solvency 
assessment (‘ORSA’) principles as required under the preparatory 
Solvency II guidelines. Following review and approval by the 
respective boards, the CA plc FLAOR was issued to the PRA and 
the Movestic FLAOR to the FI in December 2014 and feedback is 
expected from the regulators during the first half of 2015. With 
regard to the governance aspects of SII, Chesnara will be 
implementing a comprehensive Corporate Governance Map during 
the first half of 2015 which will consolidate and refine the existing 
governance structures in place within the Group, ensure they are 
SII-compliant and provide a platform for a consistent, cohesive 
governance approach across all group businesses going forward.
Pillar 3
Pillar 3 seeks to enhance market discipline on regulated firms by 
requiring them to disclose publicly key information that is relevant to 
market participants. As such, in choosing which information should  
be selected for disclosure under Pillar 3, supervisors will be guided 
by the actual needs of market participants rather than by their own 
information needs. The key reporting requirements are a Solvency & 
Financial Condition Report (SFCR) and a Regular Supervisory Report 
(RSR). The SFCR is for public disclosure and will follow a prescribed 
format. The RSR is not public and is only communicated to the 
relevant supervisor and, again, will largely follow a prescriptive format.
Progress update
The development work required to populate the Quantitative Reporting 
Templates (QRTs) is materially complete and a number of dry run 
exercises are planned for CA plc, Movestic and the Group during 
2015. The dry runs will look to test and validate both the process and 
the outputs and will include; the Annual QRTs (based on year-end 
2014 data), the quarterly QRTs (based on half-year 2015 data) and a 
consolidated set of Group QRTs (based on year-end 2014 data).  
Work is also ongoing in CA plc and Movestic to finalise the format and 
content of their Solvency & Financial Condition Report (SFCR) and 
Regular Supervisory Report (RSR) and the plan is to perform a dry run 
on these reports during Q3 2015.
47
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION BCORPORATE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Social and environmental issues are 
taken seriously and by Chesnara, with 
particular emphasis given to 
developing and maintaining high 
standards. 
We do not, however, consider that these aspects are critical 
to the achievement of our strategic aims or that they should 
form any significant element of remuneration or reward.
Equal opportunities
Chesnara is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in 
employment and it will continue to select, recruit, train and 
promote the best candidates based on suitability for the role 
and treat all employees and applicants fairly regardless  
of race, age, gender, marital status, ethnic origin, religious 
beliefs, sexual orientation or disability. Chesnara will  
ensure that no employee suffers harassment or intimidation.
Health, safety and welfare at work
Chesnara places great importance on the health, safety and 
welfare of its employees. Relevant policies, standards  
and procedures are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure 
that any hazards or material risks are removed or reduced 
to minimise or, where possible, exclude the possibility of 
accident or injury to employees or visitors.
The policies, standards and procedures are communicated 
to employees through contracts of employment, the staff 
handbook and employee briefings and all employees have a 
duty to exercise responsibility and do everything possible 
to prevent injury to themselves and others.
Social, environmental and ethical issues
Chesnara aims to be sensitive to the cultural, social and 
economic needs of our local community and endeavours to 
protect and preserve the environment where it operates.  
To support this we allow each of our UK employees two days 
release on full pay each year where they can support a local 
charity project of their choice.
The table below shows the gender split of employees of the 
Chesnara Group split across different categories:
We seek to be honest and fair in our relationships with  
our customers and provide the standards of products and 
services that have been agreed.
2014 
2013
Male  Female  Male  Female
Directors	of	Chesnara	plc	
7	
1	
7	
1	
Senior	management	of	
the	Group	(other	than	
Directors	of	Chesnara	plc)	
Heads	of	business	units		
and	Group	functions	
1	
–	
1	
–
6	
5	
6	
6	
Employees	of	the	Group	
70	
60	
60	
62
Total 
84 
66 
74 
69
Senior management includes employees other than Group 
Directors who have the responsibility for planning, directing 
or controlling the activities of the company, or a strategically 
significant part of the company. In Chesnara’s case, this is 
the Managing Director of the Swedish subsidiary, Movestic 
Livförsäkringar AB.
The Board has not identified any senior management as 
defined by the Companies Act outside of the Board  
of Directors and subsidiary Directors. However, to give 
additional information in keeping with the spirit of the 
Company’s focus on diversity we have provided additional 
disclosures to cover the employees within the Group.  
We have provided an analysis of diversity which shows 
“Heads of Business Units and Group functions” separately 
from the remainder of employees within the Group.
Disabled employees
Chesnara will provide employment for disabled persons 
wherever the requirements of the business allow and  
if applications for employment are received from suitable 
applicants. If existing employees become disabled,  
every reasonable effort will be made to achieve continuity  
of employment.
Being primarily office-based financial services companies, 
the Directors believe that the Group’s activities do not 
materially contribute to pollution or cause material damage 
to the environment. However, the Group takes all 
practicable steps to minimise its effects on the environment 
and encourages its employees to conserve energy, minimise 
waste and recycle work materials.
Greenhouse gas reporting
Disclosure of emissions
Global GHG emissions data for the period from 1 January 2014 
to 31 December 2014:
 Tonnes of CO2e
2014            2013  
_		
_
	 76.4		
121.3	
122.2		
	0.112		
87.8
0.117
Emissions	from:	
Combustion	of	fuel	and	operation		
of	facilities	(scope	1)–
Electricity,	heat,	steam	and	cooling		
purchased	for	own	use	(scope	2)	
Travel	(scope	3)	
Company’s	chosen	intensity		
measurement	=	tonnes	of	CO2	e	
per	square	metre	of	office
space	occupied	
Emissions	reported	above	normalised	to	per	tonne	
of	product	output	
The above analysis shows that our emissions from travel 
have increased somewhat when compared with the prior year. 
This increase is predominantly as a result of the additional 
travel incurred as a result of the work performed during  
the year associated with the purchase of the Waard Group. 
Off-setting this is a decrease in the consumption of energy 
for own use. This is primarily as a result of decreases in the 
reported consumption within the Movestic business.
48
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
SECTION B STRATEGIC REPORT 
 
 
	
	
	
 
 
	
		
		
	
	
	
Methodology used to calculate emissions
We have followed the requirements of the GHG Protocol 
Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (revised 
edition) and the Defra Carbon Trust conversion factors to 
measure and report greenhouse gas emissions, as well  
as the disclosure requirements in Part 7 of the Companies 
Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) 
Regulations 2013. The financial control method, which captures 
the sources that fall within our consolidated financial 
statements, has been used. Although we operate an 
outsourced model in the UK, these outsourcers do not work 
exclusively for the Group and therefore it is not deemed 
appropriate to include emissions outside of the Group 
consolidated financial statements. The Group’s carbon 
reporting falls under three scopes as shown in the table on 
the previous page.
There are 16 company-leased vehicles in total in the UK  
and Sweden which are used primarily for commuting and 
not business-related activities. Commuting mileage is  
a personal expense of the employee and is not therefore 
included in the consolidated financial statements.
Approved by the Board on 30 March 2015 and signed on its 
behalf by:
Peter Mason 
Chairman  
John Deane
Chief Executive Officer
49
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014STRATEGIC REPORT SECTION B50
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
SECTION C
 CORPORATE 
 GOVERNANCE
IN THIS SECTION
52	 Governance	Overview	from	the	Chairman	
53	 Board	of	Directors	
54	 Board	Profile	
55	 Corporate	Governance	Report	
60	 Directors’	Remuneration	Report	
80	 Audit	&	Risk	Committee	Report	
83	 Directors’	Report
85	 Directors’	Responsibilities	Statement
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014
51
GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Good governance remains central to 
the ongoing success of the Group.
Introduction
This section of the Annual Report & Accounts provides me 
with an opportunity to provide insight into the governance of 
the Company.
The Corporate Governance Code
Chesnara remains committed to the principles of the UK 
Corporate Governance Code (‘the Code’) and has complied 
with the provisions of the Code during 2014.
2014 saw the introduction of an updated version of the  
Code which applies to accounting periods beginning  
on or after 1 October 2014 so is not applicable to these 
financial statements.
The updated version of the Code brings greater focus on  
the importance of the Board in setting the correct tone  
on corporate governance and emphasises the benefits of 
diversity on a Board.
Reporting on going concern status will be strengthened 
under the new provisions. Going concern statements will 
continue to evidence that going concern is an appropriate 
basis of accounting but a broader assessment of viability 
over a longer period will also be required.
The provision on Remuneration has been amended to  
make clear that remuneration policies must be designed to  
promote the long-term success of the company and that  
the performance-related elements of remuneration must  
be transparent.
The revised Code also includes a requirement to explain  
how a company intends to engage with shareholders where  
a significant percentage of them have voted against an  
AGM resolution.
None of the changes are expected to be an issue for  
the Company.
Remuneration reporting
The Remuneration Report details how our governance 
processes are applied in the area of Director remuneration. 
2014 is the second year that we have reported under the 
“new style” reporting regime. Particular highlights of this 
year’s report include:
–  The results of our shareholder vote for the new 
remuneration policy that was tabled at the AGM in 2014.
– How this new remuneration policy has been applied during 
the year;
– The Remuneration Committee’s activities regarding the 
change in the Chief Executive Officer of the Group, including:
–  Graham Kettleborough standing down; and
–  The Committee’s involvement in the recruitment of  
John Deane as the Group’s new CEO.
Governance of the Group
There have been no significant developments in the way in 
which the Group governs itself during the year. However,  
I would like to take this opportunity to expand a little on our 
Governance plans in the future. The planned addition of  
a Dutch division to our Group in 2015 will see us operating  
in three different territories, namely UK, Sweden and  
the Netherlands. At the time of announcing the Waard Group 
acquisition in December 2014 we made reference to our 
three-legged Group, and our thinking around the implications 
of this in the way we govern the Group has started to be 
developed in more detail. During 2015 we plan to implement 
a new Corporate Governance Map, which, amongst other 
things, will bring a more consistent divisionalised structure 
across the Group. The Group Board will delegate appropriate 
levels of authority to each divisional Board. I will report  
on its implementation in the 2015 Annual Report & Accounts.
Audit & Risk Committee Report
This report provides some insight into the key activities of the 
Audit & Risk Committee during 2014. The Committee  
has continued to provide excellent oversight and challenge to 
support the key judgments made by Executive Management, 
and has been involved in supporting a number of key 
activities during the year, such as the transfer of some of our 
core actuarial services from HCL to Towers Watson and the 
purchase of the Waard Group.
I trust that the various reports in the rest of this section  
of the Annual Report & Accounts show how important good 
governance is to the ongoing success of Chesnara.
Peter Mason
Chairman
30 March 2015
52
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCEBOARD OF DIRECTORS
Peter Mason was appointed as Chairman of Chesnara plc and 
Chairman of the Nomination Committee on 1 January 2009 
and was appointed as Chairman of Movestic Livförsäkring AB 
with effect from 23 July 2009. He is also a member of the 
Remuneration Committee. He was the Investment Director 
and Actuary of Neville James Group, an investment 
management company and was admitted as a Fellow of the 
Institute of Actuaries in 1979. He has over 40 years’ experience 
in financial services and held several non-executive posts 
within the industry.
John Deane was appointed as a director of Chesnara plc on 
3 December 2014. He assumed the role of CEO from  
1 January 2015 on the resignation of Graham Kettleborough. 
John is a qualified Actuary and has over 30 years experience 
in the life assurance industry. John joined Century Life, a 
closed book acquisition company in 1993. As CEO, he oversaw 
the creation of the outsourcing company Adepta in 2000.  
He joined Old Mutual plc in 2003 becoming their Corporate 
Development Director later that year. In 2007 he joined  
the Board of Royal London with responsibility for their open 
businesses in the UK, Ireland and Isle of Man. Since 2013, 
John has been leading a financial services consultancy which 
has been advising UK and overseas companies on a  
variety of strategic projects. John is a non-executive Director 
of Crossco (1337) plc, which is seeking to become a 
challenger bank (Atom).
David Rimmington was appointed as Group Finance Director 
with effect from 17 May 2013. He trained as a chartered 
accountant with KPMG, has more than 17 years’ experience 
in financial management within the life assurance and banking 
sectors and has had a significant role in a number of major 
acquisitions and business integrations. Prior to joining 
Chesnara plc in 2011 as Associate Finance Director David  
held a number of financial management positions within  
the Royal London Group including 6 years as Head of Group 
Management Reporting.
Frank Hughes is the Business Services Director of Chesnara 
plc. He joined Countrywide Assured plc in November 1992 
as an IT Project Manager and was appointed to the Board  
as IT Director in May 2002. He has 27 years’ experience in 
the life assurance industry gained with Royal Life, Norwich 
Union and CMG.
Peter Wright is an Independent Non-executive Director 
who was appointed to the Chesnara plc Board on 1 January 
2009. At the same date he was appointed as Chairman of 
the Audit & Risk Committee. He was appointed as a member 
of the Nomination Committee with effect from 9 July 2009. 
He retired as a Principal of Towers Perrin on 1 January 2008 
and is a former Vice President of the Institute of Actuaries, 
having been admitted as a Fellow in 1979. He is Chairman of 
the Risk Committee and of the With-profits Committee of 
Countrywide Assured plc.
Veronica Oak (née France) is an Independent Non-executive 
Director who was appointed to the Chesnara plc Board on  
16 January 2013. She serves on the Nomination and Audit & 
Risk Committees and took over the role of Chairman of the 
Remuneration Committee on 17 May 2013. On 16 February 
2015, Veronica was appointed to the Board of the Hanley 
Economic Building Society as a Non-Executive Director. She  
is also a Non-executive Director of Family Assurance where 
she is a member of their Risk & Audit and Nominations 
Committees and chairs their Remuneration Committee. 
Having held a number of positions within life companies, 
including Marketing Director, in 1992, Veronica set up her 
own financial services consultancy business advising on 
strategy, business development, product development and 
related activities. Veronica was Chairman of the trade body, 
the Investment and Life Assurance Group in 2002/3  
and served on its Management Committee for over ten years 
before stepping down in 2010.
David Brand is an Independent Non-executive Director 
who was appointed to the Chesnara plc Board and the Board 
of Movestic Livförsäkring AB on 16 January 2013. He serves 
on the Nomination, and Audit & Risk Committees. He is a 
Non-executive Director at Exeter Friendly Society, where he 
is Chairman of the Investment Committee and also sits  
on the Audit, Risk and Compliance and the Nomination and 
Remuneration Committees. He is a qualified actuary  
who, prior to his retirement in June 2012, had worked for the 
Hannover Re Group in the UK, acting as the Managing 
Director of the UK life reinsurance subsidiary since 2003. 
David had been with the company since 1988, and a Director 
since 1990. During his career David has also held various 
roles with the Institute of Actuaries, including being a member 
of Council and he also served on the ABI Health Committee 
from 2006 to 2012.
Mike Evans is an Independent Non-executive Director who 
was appointed to the Chesnara plc Board on 4 March 2013. 
He serves on the Audit & Risk, Nomination and Remuneration 
Committees. Mike became Senior Independent Director  
on 17 May 2013. He is currently Non-executive Chairman of 
Hargreaves Lansdown plc, a FTSE 100 listed company, a 
position he has held since 2009. He chairs their Nomination 
Committee and sits on their Remuneration Committee. He 
originally joined the Hargreaves Lansdown Board as a 
Non-executive Director in 2006. Mike is also the Non-executive 
Chairman of Zoopla Property Group plc. In this role he also 
chairs the Nomination Committee and is a member of the 
Remuneration Committee. Mike is also a Non-executive 
Director of esure Group plc. Mike is a qualified actuary and 
served in a number of Director level positions within Skandia 
UK between 1991 and 2006.
Graham Kettleborough was the Chief Executive of 
Chesnara plc throughout 2014 until his resignation from 
Chesnara plc and its UK subsidiaries on 31 December 2014. 
He joined Countrywide Assured plc in July 2000 with 
responsibility for marketing and business development and 
was appointed as Managing Director and to the Board in 
July 2002. He was appointed as a Non-executive Director of 
Movestic Livförsäkring AB and as Chairman of Movestic 
Kapitalförvaltning AB with effect from 23 July 2009. He has 
lifetime experience in the financial services industry, primarily 
in customer service, marketing and product and business 
development, gained with Scottish Provident, Prolific Life, 
City of Westminster Assurance and Target Life.
53
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION CBOARD PROFILE
The Board’s mix of skills and 
experience creates a solid platform  
to govern the Group and deliver its 
strategic objectives.
This part of the assessment focuses on ensuring  
the appropriate breadth and depth of competencies  
and experience.
A competency matrix is defined for the Board which is aligned 
to the strategic objectives set out on pages 13 and 14. Each 
Board member is assessed and scored against the core 
competencies and cumulative scores provide a competency 
profile for the Board as a whole, as set out below.
The profile is used to ensure that the Board as a whole 
possesses an appropriate skills and experience base for 
effective governance of the Group. The chart below compares 
the current assessment with the prior year assessment.
Highlights of the current profile changes compared 
with 2013 are:
– In general the slight changes as compared to 2013 relate to 
the impact of a change in CEO. In the short term the 
appointment of a new CEO has a slight adverse impact on 
the Chesnara company knowledge component. Certain 
other components are deemed to strengthen marginally.
– The level of knowledge of the Swedish Insurance market  
is adequate to enable effective Board oversight of the 
Swedish business for which the deeper specialist 
knowledge is devolved to the local Board and executive 
management team.
  A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
I 
J 
K
	2014	
	 	2013	
A  Chesnara	Company	Knowledge
B	 Industry	Knowledge	–	UK
C	 Industry	Knowledge	–	Sweden
D	 Governance	–	Actuarial
E	 Governance	–	Financial
F	 Audit	&	Risk	Management
G	 Investment	Management
H	 M&A	and	Business	Development
 I	 Commercial	Management
J	 Operational	Change	Management
K	 Operational	Management
54
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCECORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT
The Directors are committed 
to achieving a high standard 
of corporate governance 
including compliance with the 
principles and practices of the 
UK Corporate Governance 
Code (the ‘Code’), as 
published by the Financial 
Reporting Council.
The following statement, together with the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report on pages 60 to 79 and the Audit & Risk 
Committee Report on pages 80 to 82 describes how  
the principles set out in the Code have been applied by the 
Company and details the Company’s compliance with  
the Code’s provisions for the year ended 31 December 2014.
During the year under review the UK life and pensions 
businesses of the Group subsisted in two UK subsidiary 
companies being Countrywide Assured plc and Protection 
Life Company Limited. As at 31 December 2014, the 
business of Protection Life Company Limited was 
transferred into Countrywide Assured plc by means of a 
Part VII transfer of the business under FSMA 2000.
Compliance with the Code
The Company has complied throughout the year with all of the 
relevant provisions of the Code.
The Board
At the end of the year ended 31 December 2014, the Board 
comprised a Non-executive Chairman, four other  
Non-executive Directors and three Executive Directors. 
During the year, there was one addition to the Board 
membership. On 3 December 2014, John Deane was 
appointed as a Director of Chesnara plc. 
With effect from 1 January 2015, John was appointed as CEO 
of Chesnara plc following Graham Kettleborough’s resignation 
on 31 December 2014.
Biographical details of all current Directors are given on page 53 
and a Board Profile, which assesses the core competencies 
required to meet strategic objectives, is provided on page 54. 
The Board, which plans to meet eight times during the year, 
has a schedule, which it reviews annually, of matters reserved 
for its consideration and approval. These matters include:
–  setting corporate strategy; 
–  approving the annual budget and medium-term projections; 
–  reviewing operational and financial performance;
–  approving acquisitions, investments and capital expenditure; 
– reviewing the Group’s system of financial and business 
controls and risk management and setting risk appetite 
parameters;
–  approving appointments to the Board and to its Committees; 
–  appointment of the Company Secretary; and
–  approval of policies relating to Directors’ remuneration. 
In addition:
i) 
 the Directors of the Company are also the Directors of 
Countrywide Assured plc, a UK-based life and pensions 
business subsidiary of the Group. Under PRA Regulation 
the Directors of CA plc have responsibility for maintenance 
and projections of solvency and for assessment of  
capital requirements, based on risk assessments, and for 
establishing the level of long-term business provisions, 
including the adoption of appropriate assumptions. 
Graham Kettleborough resigned from the Board of CA plc 
on 31 December 2014 and John Deane was appointed  
to that Board on 3 December 2014;
ii)   five Directors of the Company Messrs Mason, Evans, 
Deane (appointed 3 December 2014) and Rimmington, 
and Ms Oak (née France) are also Directors of 
Protection Life Company Limited a UK-based life 
business subsidiary of the Group. Graham Kettleborough 
was also a director of PL Ltd until his resignation on  
31 December 2014. Under PRA Regulation the Directors 
of PL Ltd have responsibility for maintenance and 
projections of solvency and for assessment of capital 
requirements, based on risk assessments, and for 
establishing the level of long-term business provisions, 
including the adoption of appropriate assumptions.
iii)   three Directors of the Company, being Messrs Mason, 
Kettleborough and Brand, were also Directors of Movestic 
Livförsäkring AB throughout the year. In March 2015 
Graham Kettleborough stood down from the Board of 
Movestic and John Deane was appointed. Under regulation 
by Finansinspektionen, the Directors of Movestic have 
responsibility for ensuring that Movestic complies with 
regulatory solvency requirements. John Deane has been 
approved by the Swedish regulator for his appointment as 
a Director of the company.
The responsibilities that the Board has delegated to the 
respective Executive Management teams, of the UK and 
Swedish businesses include: the implementation of the 
strategies and policies of the Group as determined by the 
Board; monitoring of operational and financial results  
against plans and budget; prioritising the allocation of capital, 
technical and human resources and developing and 
managing risk management systems.
55
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION CCORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT (CONTINUED)
The roles of the Chairman and Chief Executive
The division of responsibilities between the Chairman of the 
Board, and the Chief Executive is clearly defined and has 
been approved by the Board. The Chairman leads the Board 
in the determination of its strategy and in the achievement  
of its objectives and is responsible for organising the business 
of the Board and supplying timely information, ensuring  
its effectiveness, encouraging challenge from Non-executive 
Directors and setting its agenda. The Chairman has no 
day-to-day involvement in the management of the Group.  
The Chief Executive has direct charge of the Group on  
a day-to-day basis and is accountable to the Board for the 
financial and operational performance of the Group.
Senior Independent Director
The Board has designated Mike Evans as Senior Independent 
Director. He is available to meet shareholders on request  
and to ensure that the Board is aware of shareholder 
concerns not resolved through the existing mechanisms for 
shareholder communication.
Directors and Directors’ independence
The Board considers that Peter Mason was independent on 
his appointment as Chairman on 1 January 2009. In making 
this determination, the Board has carefully considered the fact 
that he is also a Non-executive Director of Countrywide 
Assured plc, a position which he has held since 1 October 
1990, and a Non-executive Director of Countrywide  
Assured Life Holdings Limited (‘CALHL’), the parent company 
of Countrywide Assured plc, a position he has held since 
18 November 1991.
With regard to Peter Mason the Board considers that the 
characteristics, aims and mode of operation of the relevant 
activities of the Company are sufficiently different from  
those prevailing when he held the relevant position, that the 
judgement and independence of mind exercised on behalf  
of the Company are not adversely affected or circumscribed.  
The Board is of the view that his considerable specific 
experience and knowledge in the business of the Group 
outweighs any residual risk in the historical relationships 
described above. 
The Board considers that all Non-executive Directors are 
independent. In making this determination, the Board has 
carefully considered that Peter Wright had, within the  
last three years prior to his appointment, held regulatory 
actuarial roles at Countrywide Assured plc and had 
otherwise provided actuarially-based consultancy advice, all 
such services being provided under an agreement with his 
employer at the time, Tillinghast Towers Perrin.
With regard to Peter Wright, the nature of the services he 
provided, being subject either to FSA regulation at that time 
or to professional standards and guidance prescribed  
or issued variously by the Institute of Actuaries or by the 
Financial Reporting Council Board of Actuarial Standards, 
was such that he was required to maintain a vigorous 
independence of mind and to prepare recommendations in 
accordance with the highest professional standards.
There were no comparable matters to consider in respect of 
Veronica Oak (née France), David Brand or Mike Evans.
The Board is satisfied that the overall balance of the Board 
continues to provide significant independence of mind and 
judgement and further considers that, taking the Board as a 
whole, the Independent Directors are of sufficient calibre, 
knowledge and number that they are able to challenge the 
Executive Directors and their views carry significant weight  
in the Company’s decision making. 
The Directors are given access to independent professional 
advice, at the Company’s expense, when the Directors deem 
it necessary, in order for them to carry out their responsibilities.
Details of the Chairman’s professional commitments are 
included in his biography on page 53. The Board is satisfied 
that these are not such as to interfere with his performance, 
which is based around a commitment of between fifty and 
sixty hours in any three-month period.
Professional development
The Directors were advised, on their appointment, of their 
legal and other duties and obligations as Directors of a listed 
Company. This has been supplemented by the adoption  
and circulation to each Director of a written Code of Conduct, 
covering all aspects of the specific operation of Corporate 
Governance standards and of policies and procedures within 
the Group. Throughout their period in office, the Directors 
have, through the conduct of business at scheduled Board 
meetings, been continually updated on the Group’s business 
and on the competitive and regulatory environment in which 
it operates. Through their membership of the CA plc Board, 
and, where relevant, PL Board, all of the Directors who  
served during the period under review have considerable 
knowledge and experience of the UK-based businesses of the 
Chesnara plc Group. Similarly, Messrs Mason, Kettleborough, 
Deane and Brand, through their membership of the Movestic 
Board, have considerable knowledge and experience of the 
Swedish-based business of the Group.
Information
Regular reports and information are circulated to the 
Directors in a timely manner in preparation for Board and 
Committee meetings.
As stated above, the Company’s Directors are also variously 
members of the Boards of CA plc, PL and Movestic. These 
Boards hold scheduled meetings, at least quarterly, which 
are serviced by detailed regular reports and information, 
which cover all of the key areas relevant to the direction and 
operation of that subsidiary including:
For CA plc and PL Ltd:
–  Earnings report;
–  Report from the Actuarial Function Holder  
and With-profits Actuary;
–  Compliance report;
–  Investment report; and
–  Outsourcing reports.
56
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCECA and PL monitor risk management procedures, including 
the identification, measurement and control of risk through 
the offices of a Risk Committee. These committees are 
accountable to and report to their Boards on a quarterly basis.
The Chairmen of the Audit & Risk Committee and 
Remuneration Committee used a questionnaire approach in 
their respective performance evaluation of the Committees 
they chair.
In addition, annual reports are produced which cover an 
assessment of the capital requirements of the life assurance 
subsidiaries, their financial condition and a review of risk 
management and internal control systems.
In addition, and using similar methods to those described 
above, the Non-executive Directors, led by the  
Senior Independent Director, met to conduct a performance 
evaluation of the Chairman.
For Movestic: 
–  Earnings report;
–  Operating reports, including sales and fund performance; 
–  Financial risk report;
–  General risk report, including an estimate of risk-based 
capital, in accordance with Swedish regulatory requirements;
–  Compliance report; and
–  Report on subsidiaries and the associated company.
In addition, Movestic is required to submit to the Chesnara 
Audit & Risk Committee a quarterly risk report, an annual 
report on risk management and internal control systems and 
all internal audit reports.
On a monthly basis, the Directors receive summary high 
level information, relating to total Group operations, prepared 
by the Group Chief Executive, which enables them to maintain 
continuing oversight of the Group’s and management’s 
performance against objectives.
In addition to these structured processes, the papers are 
supplemented by information which the Directors require 
from time to time in connection with major events and 
developments, where critical views and judgements are 
required of Board members outside the normal reporting cycle.
Performance evaluation
During the period under review the Chairman undertook  
a formal performance evaluation of the Board and 
Nomination Committees, and of individual directors. To that 
end he held in-depth discussions with each Director on a 
one-to-one basis. 
The Head of UK Internal Audit, reporting to the Chairman 
of the Group Audit & Risk Committee, monitors the 
assessment and follow through of any issues arising in 
the evaluation process. As stated previously the Board 
considers its approach to the evaluation of Board 
effectiveness on an annual basis.
Company Secretary
The Company Secretary is responsible for advising the Board, 
through the Chairman, on all governance matters. For  
the period under review, Mary Fishwick held the position of 
Company Secretary. The Directors have access to the advice 
and services of the Company Secretary.
Board Committees
The Board has established the Committees set out below to 
assist in the execution of its duties. Each of these Committees 
operates according to written terms of reference and the 
Chairman of each Committee reports to the Board. The 
constitution and terms of reference of each Committee are 
reviewed at least annually to ensure that the Committees 
are operating effectively and that any changes considered 
necessary are recommended to the Board for approval. 
During the year the terms of reference of all the Committees 
were reviewed and changes made, where required, to 
reflect updated guidance on corporate governance. The terms 
of reference of each Committee are available on the Company’s 
website at www.chesnara.co.uk or, upon request, from 
the Company Secretary.
The attendance record of each of the Directors at scheduled Board and Committee meetings for the period under review is:
Peter	Mason	–	Non-executive	Chairman	
Peter	Wright	–	Non-executive	Director	
Graham	Kettleborough	-	Executive	Director	
Frank	Hughes	–	Executive	Director	
Veronica	Oak	(née	France)	-	Non-executive	Director		
David	Brand	–	Non-executive	Director		
David	Rimmington	–	Executive	Director		
Mike	Evans	–	Non-executive	Director	
John	Deane	–	Executive	Director	(appointed	3	December	2014)		
Scheduled  
Board  
Nomination  
Committee  
Remuneration  
Committee  
Audit & Risk
Committee
7	(7	)	
7	(7	)	
7	(7	)	
7	(7	)	
7	(7	)	
7	(7	)	
7	(7	)	
7	(7	)	
2	(2	)	
2	(2	)	
2	(2	)	
n/a		
n/a		
2	(2	)	
2	(2	)	
n/a		
2	(2	)	
n/a		
4	(4	)	
n/a		
n/a		
n/a		
4	(4	)	
n/a		
n/a		
4	(4	)	
n/a		
n/a
6	(6	)
n/a
n/a
6	(6	)
6	(6	)
n/a
6	(6	)
n/a
The figures in brackets indicate the maximum number of scheduled meetings in the period during which the individual was a Board or Committee 
member. The information above relates to the period from 1 February 2014 to 31 January 2015.
57
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION C 
 
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT (CONTINUED)
The Nomination Committee considers 
the mix of skills and experience  
that the Board requires and seeks the 
appointment of Directors to ensure 
that the Board is effective in discharging 
its responsibilities.
Nomination Committee
During the period under review, the Nomination Committee 
comprised Peter Mason, who also served as Chairman of 
the Committee, Peter Wright, David Brand, Veronica Oak 
(neé France) and Mike Evans, all of whom served throughout 
the period. The Terms of Reference for the Committee can 
be found on the company website, www.chesnara.co.uk
The role of the Nomination Committee is to:
–  review the balance and composition of the Board and its 
Committees, ensuring that they remain appropriate;
–  be responsible for overseeing the Board’s succession planning 
requirements including the identification and assessment of 
potential Board candidates and making recommendations to 
the Board for its approval; and 
– keep under review the leadership needs of, and succession 
planning for, the Group in relation to both its Executive 
Directors and other senior executives.
This includes the consideration of recommendations made 
by the Chief Executive Officer for changes to the executive 
membership of the Board.
Change of Chief Executive Officer
The Nominations Committee led the process to select and 
appoint a new CEO to succeed Graham Kettleborough  
and ensure a smooth transition. With the interests of the 
organisation firmly in mind, the Committee sought to 
recruit a new CEO with extensive experience of our sector, 
strong leadership skills and an individual who provided a 
good cultural fit. Following an extensive recruitment process 
which utilised independent professional recruitment 
consultants the Nominations Committee recommended the 
appointment of John Deane. Following Board and regulatory 
approval, John was appointed as a Director on 3 December 
2014, and was appointed CEO on 1 January 2015, following 
Graham giving notice on 2 December 2014 to resign as  
CEO on 31 December 2014. A short resume of John’s career 
history and experience is shown on page 53. 
During the period, the Committee met twice to consider the 
continuing mix of skills and experience of the Directors.
Remuneration Committee
Full details of the composition and work of the Remuneration 
Committee are provided in the Directors’ Remuneration Report 
on pages 60 to 79.
Audit & Risk Committee
Full details of the composition and work of the Audit & Risk 
Committee are provided in the Audit & Risk Committee Report 
on pages 80 to 82.
Relations with shareholders
The Chief Executive and the Finance Director meet  
with institutional shareholders on a regular basis and are 
available for additional meetings when required. Should 
they consider it appropriate, institutional shareholders are 
able to meet with the Chairman, the Senior Independent 
Director and any other Director. The Chairman is responsible 
for ensuring that appropriate channels of communication 
are established between the Chief Executive and the Finance 
Director on the one part and the shareholders on  
the other and is responsible for ensuring that the views of 
shareholders are known to the Board. This includes  
twice yearly feedback prepared by the Group’s brokers on 
meetings the Executive Directors have held with 
institutional shareholders.
Annual and interim reports are distributed to other parties who 
may have an interest in the Group’s performance and those 
reports, together with a wide range of information of interest to 
existing and potential shareholders, are made available on the 
Company’s website, www.chesnara.co.uk
Regular meetings are held 
with industry analysts and 
commentators so that  
they are better informed in 
formulating opinions and 
making judgements on the 
Group’s performance.
Private investors are encouraged to attend the Annual 
General Meeting (‘AGM’) at which the results are explained 
and opportunity is provided to ask questions on each 
proposed resolution. The Chairmen of the Board Committees 
will be available to answer such questions as appropriate. 
Details of the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM  
on 16 May 2015 can be found in the notice of the meeting 
on pages 197 to 198.
Internal control
The Board is ultimately responsible for the Group’s system 
of internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness. In 
establishing the system of internal control, the Directors have 
regard to the significance of relevant risks, the likelihood of 
risks occurring and the costs of mitigating risks. It is, 
therefore, designed to manage rather than eliminate the risks 
which might prevent the Company meeting its objectives 
and, accordingly, only provides reasonable, but not absolute, 
assurance against the risk of material misstatement or loss.
In accordance with ‘Internal Control: Guidance for Directors 
on the Combined Code’ (The ‘Turnbull Guidance’) the Board 
confirms that there is an ongoing process for identifying, 
evaluating and managing the significant risks faced by the 
Group, that this process has been in place for the year 
under review and up to the date of approval of the Annual 
Report and Accounts, and that the process is regularly 
reviewed by the Board and accords with the guidance.
58
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCEIn accordance with the regulatory requirements of the 
PRA, CA has established and maintained a risk and 
responsibility regime. This ensures that the identification, 
assessment and control of risk are firmly embedded 
within the organisation and that there are procedures for 
monitoring and update of the same. The CA and PL  
Risk Management functions review and report quarterly 
on this regime to the relevant CA and PL Boards.
  The Board also confirms the continuing appropriateness of 
the maintenance of a UK Internal Audit Function, which 
reports to the Chairman of the Audit & Risk Committee. The 
Internal Audit function in Sweden is provided by external 
consultants who, in accordance with Swedish insurance 
regulations, must report formally to the Movestic Board. The 
Audit & Risk Committee has access to this work and speaks 
with them at least on an annual basis.
The Group also maintains a Key Risk Register which ensures 
that there is identification, assessment and control of  
the significant risks subsisting within the Company, CA, PL 
and Movestic. The maintenance of the key risk registers  
is the responsibility of senior management, who respectively 
report on them quarterly to the CA plc Risk Committee, PL 
Risk Committee and to each Chesnara Audit & Risk 
Committee meeting. In accordance with the requirements 
of the Swedish regulator, the Finansinspektionen, 
Movestic has also established and maintained a risk and 
responsibility regime, which requires inter alia that:
–  the Movestic Board and Chief Executive have responsibility 
for ensuring that the organisation and management of  
the operation are characterised by sound internal control, 
which is responsive to internal and external risks and to 
changes in them;
– the Movestic Board has responsibility for the satisfactory 
management and control of risks through the specification 
of internal procedures; and
– there is an explicit risk control function, which is supported 
by compliance and internal control functions.
  As an integral part of this regime Movestic also maintains a 
detailed risk register, which identifies, monitors and assesses 
risk by appropriate classification of risk.
  As stated above, all of the Chesnara Directors are also 
members of the CA plc Board and the Company thereby has 
effective oversight of the maintenance and effectiveness  
of controls subsisting within CA plc. Regarding PL and 
Movestic, such oversight is exercised by way of the 
membership of a number of the Chesnara Directors on 
their Boards, together with quarterly reporting by PL and 
Movestic to the Chesnara Audit & Risk Committee.
In addition, the Chesnara Board confirms that it has 
undertaken a formal annual review of the effectiveness of 
the system of internal control for the year ended  
31 December 2014, and that it has taken account of material 
developments between that date and the date of approval  
of the Annual Report and Accounts. The Board confirms that 
these reviews took account of reports by the internal audit 
functions on the operation of controls, internal financial 
controls, and management assurance on the maintenance  
of controls and reports from the external Auditor on matters 
identified in the course of statutory audit work.
Financial reporting  
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining 
adequate internal controls over financial reporting. These 
controls are designed to provide reasonable assurance 
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation 
of financial statements for external reporting purposes.
The Group has comprehensive planning, budgeting, 
forecasting and monthly reporting processes in place. A 
summary of the Group’s financial results supported by 
commentary and performance measures is provided to the 
Board before each Board Meeting.
In relation to the preparation of the Group financial statements, 
the controls in place include:
–  the finance governance team review new developments in 
reporting requirements and standards to ensure that these are 
reflected in Group accounting policies; and
–  the finance governance team develop the Group’s financial 
control processes and procedures which are implemented 
across the Group.
The reporting process is supported by transactional and 
consolidation finance systems. Reviews of the applications 
of controls for external reporting purposes are carried out 
by senior finance management. The results of these reviews 
are considered by the Board as part of its monitoring  
of the performance of controls around financial reporting. 
The Audit & Risk Committee reviews the application of 
financial reporting standards and any significant accounting 
judgements made by management.
Going concern
The Directors’ Statement on going concern is included in the 
Directors’ Report on page 84.
Directors
The present Directors of the Company and their biographical 
details are set out on page 53.
59
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION C 
DIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
REMUNERATION COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN’S  
ANNUAL STATEMENT
Dear Shareholders
I am pleased to present Chesnara’s Remuneration Report 
for the year ended 31 December 2014 which comprises:
–  My report as Remuneration Committee Chairman and our 
Annual Remuneration Report, both of which are subject to an 
advisory shareholder vote at the AGM in May 2015; and 
– Our Remuneration Policy, which is shown for your ease of 
reference and includes updates to dates and data although 
the policy remains unchanged from that approved by 
shareholders in May 2014.
Management’s performance in 2014
During 2014 the Executive Directors have continued to 
deliver on key financial metrics and on a number of 
important strategic initiatives and regulatory requirements, 
notably progress towards Solvency II. The year finished 
with three important announcements: 
–  legal approval obtained to transfer the insurance business of 
Protection Life Company Limited into Countrywide Assured plc;
–  purchase of the Waard Group in the Netherlands; and
–  a change of CEO.
The main factors to influence the Committee’s 
assessment of performance in 2014 were:
–  Growth in the business – up 10.8% as measured by European 
Economic Value (EEV) after dividend distribution and profit 
before tax on an IFRS basis of £28.8m. 
– Progress on preparations for the advent of Solvency II, 
effective from 1 January 2016.
– Effective management of the business with no significant 
regulatory breaches.
– Conclusion of the legal and regulatory proceedings to 
transfer Protection Life Company Limited (acquired November 
2013) into Countrywide Assured plc and integration  
activity leading to Chesnara’s outsourcers being ready to 
accept this business from Direct Line.
– Operational improvements in the UK and Sweden, 
including the conclusion of negotiations with Chesnara’s 
main UK outsource partner to safeguard administration 
costs and services for the next 10 years.
Additionally management has identified, negotiated  
and successfully raised capital to fund the purchase of the 
Waard Group which extends Chesnara’s geographic 
presence into the Netherlands and, we believe, creates an 
important strategic platform for future acquisitions.
I trust shareholders will agree that the performance of the 
Executive Team in 2014 has delivered on important initiatives 
that are aligned to shareholder’s interests. Our performance 
assessment of the new 2014 Short-Term Incentive Scheme 
has resulted in an award for the three Executive Directors 
equivalent to 68.5% of salary (details on page 71).
Composition and activities of the Remuneration 
Committee
There have been no changes this year to the composition of 
the Committee. In addition to myself, Committee members 
are Peter Mason (Chairman of the Board) and Mike Evans 
(Senior Independent Director).
The Committee met four times in 2014 and dealt with the 
following matters in relation to Executive Remuneration:
– Following shareholder approval at the last AGM, the 2014 
Short-Term Incentive Scheme (STI) and the 2014 
Long-Term Incentive Scheme (LTI) for Executive Directors 
were implemented and the Committee discussed and set 
the performance targets for each. Additionally a minimum 
shareholding requirement for Executives (100% of salary) 
was also put into effect.
– 2013 Annual Bonus Plan – noted that the maximum pay-out 
under this plan had been reached in 2013 and hence  
there was no assessment and no further award under the 
LTIP element.
– When David Rimmington was promoted to Group Finance 
Director in May 2013 we awarded a salary appropriate to his 
experience. David’s salary was increased in 2013, and we have 
done so again this year as result of his continued development 
in this role and good performance. His salary increased from 
£175,000 to £200,000 with effect from 1 July 2014.
– The Committee has reviewed various regulatory changes 
relevant to remuneration including that from the FRC 
which now expects incentive schemes to include provision 
for malus (the ability to withhold an award) and clawback 
(the ability to recover an award), unless an organisation has 
good reason not to. Our current incentive schemes contain 
a malus clause and we see no reason not to adopt the new 
FRC requirement. A clawback provision will be effective 
for awards made after 1 January 2015 under both the 
Short-Term and Long-Term Incentive Schemes (see page 60).
–  A review of remuneration trends across the Group revealed 
that pay remains at appropriate levels and is not adversely 
affecting staff turnover or the ability to recruit new members 
of staff with the required skills and experience. In addition, 
the Committee reviewed salary and bonus awards to senior 
management within Movestic.
– Reviewed the Company’s Remuneration Policy and concluded 
that no changes were necessary.
– Reviewed the Committee’s Terms of Reference and 
concluded that they continue to be appropriate for the 
activities of the Committee.
– An evaluation of the Committee’s performance suggested 
that the Committee is working effectively and that  
the composition of the Committee is appropriate at the 
current time.
– Where justified by the Company’s results and the 
satisfactory performance of individuals, it is our normal 
practice to award Executive Directors, and indeed all 
employees, an annual salary increase broadly in line with 
inflation. This year, the Executive Directors, with the 
exception of the newly appointed CEO were granted an 
increase to their basic pay of 1.5%.
60
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCEShareholder Voting
Last year we asked shareholders to vote on our Remuneration 
Report, Remuneration Policy and two new incentive 
schemes which sought to address a number of concerns 
that had been expressed about the previous incentive 
arrangements and to better align Executive and shareholder 
interests. I am pleased to report that these resolutions 
were well supported by shareholders with votes in favour 
being over 98% on each (full results on page 79). The support 
from shareholders is appreciated but we will continue to 
monitor and review our arrangements to ensure that they 
continue to help influence and reward the desired outcomes.
I hope my report together with our Remuneration Report 
provides you with a clear account of the operation of the 
Remuneration Committee during 2014 and how we have 
put our Remuneration Policy into practice. I’m very happy to 
talk to shareholders to discuss any aspect of our activities 
or decisions.
Veronica Oak (née France)
30 March 2015
Change of Chief Executive Officer
The Committee worked closely with the Nominations 
Committee in the selection and appointment of a new CEO 
to succeed Graham Kettleborough and to facilitate a 
smooth transition. Execution of the Company’s succession 
plans led to the appointment of John Deane on 3 December 
2014. Taking account of the needs of the business  
and with the benefit of a four month handover period the 
Committee, with legal advice and in accordance with 
Graham’s Service Contract and our Remuneration Policy, 
entered into a Settlement Agreement with Graham.  
This provides for pay-in-lieu of notice covering salary and 
benefits for eight of his twelve month notice period.  
Full details of the agreement and the discretion that the 
Committee has exercised was posted to the company’s 
website in December 2014 and is also set out on page 74.
Again, with the interests of the organisation firmly in mind, 
we sought to recruit a CEO successor with extensive 
experience of our sector and strong leadership skills. We 
believe this has been achieved with the appointment of 
John Deane. John’s services have been secured in line with 
our Remuneration Policy on a basic salary of £360,000 plus 
pension and benefits and without any compensatory bonus 
or LTI awards being made.
Looking ahead
One of the initial tasks for our new CEO will be to 
undertake a review of the company’s corporate governance 
and organisational design to strengthen Chesnara’s group 
function. This is particularly important with the advent  
of the PRA’s new Senior Insurance Managers Regime and 
the expansion of the business into a new geographic territory. 
Should this give rise to any matters for the Remuneration 
Committee to consider we will consult or report next year, 
as appropriate.
61
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION CDIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
REMUNER ATION POLICY REPORT
The Remuneration Policy was approved by our shareholders at the Annual General 
Meeting held on 16 May 2014. No changes are being made to the Policy this  
year requiring shareholder approval. The only change is the introduction of clawback 
provisions in line with the revisions to the Code of Corporate Governance. The 
Remuneration Policy will next be put to shareholders no later than the AGM in 2017. 
For shareholders’ ease of reference key sections of the Policy with updated information 
(e.g. salary, dates etc.) is included in this section. The Policy as approved by shareholders 
can be found in last year’s Report & Accounts and as a separate document on our 
website www.chesnara.co.uk /corporate-responsibility/governance-reports 
Remuneration Policy
This section sets out the Company’s policy on Directors’ 
remuneration which was approved at the 2014 Annual General 
Meeting. The policy was developed by the Remuneration 
Committee (the Committee) to provide a clear framework for 
reward which is linked to the strategy of the Company and 
aligns the interests of executives and shareholders.
Chesnara plc is a holding company engaged in the 
management of life and pension books of business in the 
UK and Western Europe. With an operating model in the UK 
which extensively utilises the benefits of outsourcing, 
Chesnara has 25 employees in the UK including three 
Executive Directors. Chesnara has a wholly owned life 
insurance subsidiary in Sweden, Movestic which is open to 
new business and employs 131 people.
The schematic below illustrates how the Company’s KPI’s 
align to its strategic objectives and cultural values and in turn 
how those KPIs are recognised as key components of both 
the short and long-term incentive schemes. Reading across 
the chart shows how the KPIs cover the objectives. For 
example, “Maximise the value from the in-force book”, 
“Enhance value from new business” and “Acquire life and 
pensions businesses” will all directly impact the EEV growth 
of the Group. Likewise all objectives should have an impact 
on the TSR to varying degrees. Strong performance in  
terms of “maximising value from the in-force book” should 
positively influence all three KPIs. The diagram below  
has been updated during 2014 to reflect how Chesnara 
articulates its strategy. Our three objectives are the Group’s 
core strategic objectives. Underpinning the delivery of  
these three core objectives is the Group’s culture and 
values, something that is pervasive in everything we do. 
This covers how we manage our investors, policyholders, 
employees and regulators, and how we conduct our business. 
As can be seen below adhering to our core culture and 
values is expected to benefit all KPIs that are used to assess 
the performance remuneration of the Executive Directors.
Strategic objectives/cultural values
Key performance indicators
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Deliver	shareholder	value
1
2
3
Maximise	value	from	
the	in-force	book
Enhance	value	through	
new	business
Acquire	life	and	pensions	
businesses
Chesnara	culture	and	values
Short-Term  
Incentive scheme
Long-Term  
Incentive scheme
62
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Overall remuneration policy aims are:
–  to maintain a consistent remuneration strategy based on  
clear principles and objectives;
–  to ensure remuneration structures do not encourage or 
reward excessive risk-taking which is outside the boundaries 
of our stated risk appetite;
–  to link remuneration clearly to the achievement of our 
business strategy and ensure executive and shareholder 
reward is closely aligned;
  The implementation of this policy involves:
–  paying salaries that reflect individual roles and sustained 
individual performance and contribution, taking account of 
the external competitive market;
–  enabling executives to enhance their earnings by meeting 
and out-performing stretching short and long-term targets in 
line with the Group’s strategy;
–  requiring executives to build and maintain shareholdings in 
the Company;
–  to enable the Company to attract, motivate and retain 
high-calibre executives; and
–  for the policy to be easy to understand and communicate.
–  rewarding executives fairly and responsibly for their 
contribution and paying what is commensurate with 
achievement of these objectives; and
–  including malus and with effect from 1 January 2015, clawback 
provisions, as appropriate in the short-term incentive 
scheme (including the deferred share award) and the long-term 
incentive scheme.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Directors’ Remuneration 
Policy includes authority for the Company to honour any 
commitments entered into with current or former Directors 
that have been disclosed to shareholders in previous 
Remuneration Reports. Details of any payments to former 
Directors will be set out in the implementation section  
of this report as they arise.
The following tables give an overview of the Company’s 
policy on the different elements of the remuneration package.
63
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION CDIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
REMUNER ATION POLICY REPORT (CONTINUED)
Future policy table
Executive Directors’ remuneration
Purpose and link  
to strategy
Operation
Performance 
measures and 
maximum 
Changes to 
policy approved 
at the 2014 AGM
There	have	
been	no	
changes	to	the	
policy	that	was	
approved	at	the	
2014	AGM.
Personal		
and	Group	
performance		
is	taken	into	
consideration		
when	deciding	
whether	a	
salary	increase	
should	be	
awarded	–	but	
salary	increases	
may	not	be	
awarded	on	the	
strength	of	
performance	
alone.
In	setting	salaries	for	new	executive	roles	or	reviewing	the	
salaries	for	existing	roles,	the	Committee	will	take	into	account, 	
as	it	considers	appropriate,	some	or	all	of	the	following	factors:
–		assessment	of	the	responsibilities	of	the	role	and	the	
experience	and	skills	of	the	jobholder
–	the	Company’s	salary	budgets	and	results	
–	the	jobholder’s	performance
–		with	the	use	of	periodic	benchmarking	exercises,	the	external 	
market	for	roles	of	a	similar	size	and	accountability	
–	inflation	and	salaries	across	the	Company
–		balance	between	fixed	and	variable	pay	to	help	ensure	good	
risk	management.	
Where	a	new	appointment	is	made,	pay	may	be	initially	below	
that	applicable	to	the	role	and	then	may	increase	over	time	
subject	to	satisfactory	performance.
Salaries	are	usually	reviewed	annually.	There	may	be	reviews		
and	changes	during	the	year	in	exceptional	circumstances	(such	
as	new	appointments	to	executive	positions).	
The	table	below	has	been	updated	to	reflect	the	salaries	for	each	
Executive	Director	effective	from	1	January	2015.
Director 
John	Deane	
David	Rimmington	
Frank	Hughes	
  Basic salary from  
1 January 2015
Increase 
N/A	
8.3%	
1.5%	
£360,000
£203,000
£205,856
Executive	Directors	receive	life	assurance,	a	company	car,	fuel 	
benefit	and	private	medical	insurance.	A	cash	equivalent	may 		
be	paid	in	lieu	of	a	car.
Benefits	may	be	changed	in	response	to	changing	circumstances	
whether	personal	to	an	Executive	Director	or	otherwise	subject 	
to	the	cost	of	any	changes	being	largely	cost	neutral.
No		
performance	
measures	
attached.
There	have	
been	no	
changes	to	the	
policy	that	was	
approved	at		
the	2014	AGM.
The	Executive	Directors	participate	in	a	defined	contribution	
pension	scheme	with	employer	contributions	varying	between	
7.5%	and	9.5%	of	basic	salary.	If	regulatory	maxima	have	been	
reached,	the	executive	can	elect	to	receive	the	balance	of	the	
contribution	as	cash.
No		
performance	
measures	
attached.
There	have	
been	no	
changes	to	the	
policy	that	was	
approved	at		
the	2014	AGM.
Basic salary
To	recruit	and	retain	
individuals	with	the	
skills	and	experience	
needed	for	the	role	and	
to	contribute	to	the	
success	of	the	Group.
Taxable benefits
To	recruit	and	retain	
individuals	with	the	
skills	and	experience	
needed	for	the	role	and	
to	contribute	to	the	
success	of	the	Group	
and	to	minimise	the	
potential	of	ill	health	to	
undermine	Executive’s	
performance.
Pensions
To	recruit	and	retain	
individuals	with	the	
skills	and	experience	
needed	for	the	role	and	
to	contribute	to	the	
success	of	the	Group	
and	to	encourage	
responsible	provision	
for	retirement.
64
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 
Changes to  
policy approved 
at the 2014 AGM
There	have	been	
no	changes	to	the	
policy	that	was	
approved	at	the	
2014	AGM,	with	
the	exception	of	
clawback	
provisions	that	
were	introduced		
to	awards		
made	after		
1	January	2015.
Purpose and link  
to strategy
Operation
Short-Term Incentive (STI) scheme
Performance measures and maximum  
To	drive	and	
reward	
achievement	of	
the	Group’s	
business	plan		
and	key	
performance	
indicators.	To		
help	retention		
and	align	the	
interests	of	
Executive	
Directors	with	
those	of	
shareholders.
The	2014	STI	Scheme	is	discretionary.	
Awards	are	based	on	the	Committee’s	
assessment	and	judgement	of	
performance	against	specific	performance	
targets	and	Group	strategic	objectives,	
assessed	over	a	financial	year.	
Performance	is	measured	based	on	the	
financial	results	of	the	Group	and	its	
strategic	priorities,	together	with	the	
performance	of	the	Executives	in	relation	
to	specific	objectives.	The	main	weighting	
is	given	to	financial	results	–	typically	80%.
The	targets	may	include	costs,	IFRS	
pre-tax	profit,	EEV	operating	profit,	cash	
generation,	Group	strategic	objectives		
and	personal	performance.	
STI	Scheme	targets	are	commercially	
sensitive	and	therefore,	not	disclosed.	
Actual	targets	and	results	will	be	disclosed	
in	the	Annual	Report	immediately	
following	each	performance	period.
For	the	2015	STI	award	the	measures	and	
their	weighting	are:
–	IFRS	pre-tax	profit																	50%
–	EEV	operating	profit														30%
–	Group	Strategic	objectives		20%
The	Committee	may	substitute,	vary		
or	waive	the	performance	measures	in	
accordance	with	the	Scheme	Rules.
The	maximum	award	is	100%	of	basic	
salary,	however	the	STI	Scheme	award		
for	2015	is	limited	to	75%.
Provided	the	minimum	performance	
criteria	is	judged	to	have	been	achieved	
then	an	award	will	be	granted	in	two	parts;	
at	least	35%	into	deferred	share	awards	in	
the	shape	of	nil	cost	options	which	will		
vest	after	a	three	year	deferral	period	and	
the	balance	in	cash.
Dividend	equivalents	accrue	in	cash	with	
interest	thereon	in	respect	of	the	deferred	
share	awards	between	the	date	the	share	
award	is	granted	and	the	date	the	options	
are	exercised.
It	is	the	intention	of	the	Committee	to		
grant	awards	annually	and	the	
performance	criteria	will	be	set	out	in	the	
corresponding	Implementation	Plan.
The	Committee	can	apply	malus	provisions	
to	unvested	awards,	for	example,	in	the	
event	of	misstated	performance	or	
misconduct	and	in	line	with	new	regulatory	
changes	may	apply	clawback	to	awards	
made	after	1	January	2015.
As	referred	to	on	page	75	the	Company		
has	a	minimum	shareholding	policy	that	
requires	each	Director	to	hold	shares	in		
the	Company	up	to	the	value	of	their	
annual	salary.	The	Directors	will	only	be	
able	to	sell	the	shares	awarded	under	this	
scheme	subject	to	meeting	these	rules.
65
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION CDIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
REMUNER ATION POLICY REPORT (CONTINUED)
Future policy table (continued) 
Executive Directors’ remuneration (continued)
Purpose and link  
to strategy
Operation
Performance measures  
and maximum 
Changes to policy 
approved at the 
2014 AGM
Long-Term Incentive (LTI) scheme
To	incentivise		
the	delivery	of		
the	longer-term	
strategy	by		
the	setting	of	
stretching		
targets	based		
on	shareholder	
value,	and	to		
help	retain	key	
executives	and	
increase	their	
share	ownership	
in	the	Company.
The	2014	LTI	Scheme	is	discretionary.	
Awards	are	made	under	a	performance	
share	plan,	with	no	exercise	price.		
The	right	to	receive	shares	awarded		
will	be	based	on	achievement	of	
performance	conditions	over	a	minimum	
three-year	period.
It	is	the	intention	of	the	Committee	to		
grant	awards	annually	and	the	
performance	criteria	will	be	set	out	in	
	the	corresponding	Implementation	Plan.
The	Committee	may	apply	malus	
provisions	to	unvested	awards,	for	
example,	in	the	event	of	misstated	
performance	or	misconduct	and	in	line	
with	new	regulatory	changes	may		
apply	clawback	to	awards	made	after		
1	January	2015.
As	referred	to	on	page	75	the	Company	
has	a	minimum	shareholding	policy	that	
requires	each	Director	to	hold	shares		
in	the	Company	up	to	the	value	of	their	
annual	salary.	The	Directors	will	only	be	
able	to	sell	the	shares	awarded	under	this	
scheme	subject	to	meeting	these	rules.
For	2015	vesting	is	dependent	on	two	
equally	weighted	performance	measures:
1.  Total Shareholder Return: Performance	
conditions	are	based	on	total	
shareholder	return	of	the	Company		
when	compared	to	that	of	the	companies	
comprising	the	FTSE	350	Higher	Yield	
Index.	No	payout	will	be	made	unless	the	
Company	achieves	at	least	median	
performance.	Full	vesting	will	be	
achieved	if	the	Company	is	at	the	upper	
quartile	compared	to	the	peer	group.
There	have	been	
no	changes	to	the	
policy	that	was	
approved	at	the	
2014	AGM,	with	
the	exception		
of	clawback	
provisions	that	
were	introduced		
to	awards		
made	after		
1	January	2015.	
2.  Group Embedded Value:	this	target	is	
commercially	sensitive	and	therefore,	
not	disclosed.	Actual	targets	and	results	
will	be	disclosed	in	the	Annual	Report	
for	the	year	in	which	an	award	vests.	
The	assumptions	underpinning	the	
calculations	are	subject	to	independent	
actuarial	scrutiny.
The	Committee	may	substitute,	vary	or	
waive	the	performance	measures	in	
accordance	with	the	Scheme	Rules.
The	maximum	award	is	100%	of	basic	
salary,	however	the	LTI	Scheme	award		
for	2015	is	limited	to	75%.
Non-executive Directors’ remuneration
Purpose and link  
to strategy
Operation
Performance measures  
and maximum (where applicable)
Changes to policy 
approved at the 
2014 AGM
Fees	for	the	Chairman	and	Non-executive	
Directors	are	not	performance	related.
Reflecting	the	periodic	nature	of	the		
fee	reviews,	increases	at	the	time	they		
are	made,	may	be	above	those	paid	to	
Executives	and	/	or	other	employees.
There	have	been	
no	changes	to	the	
policy	that	was	
approved	at	the	
2014	AGM.
Fees
To	recruit	and	
retain	
independent	
individuals	with	
the	skills,	
experience	and	
qualities	relevant	
to	the	role	and	
who	are	also	able	
to	fulfil	the	
required	time	
commitment.
Fees	for	the	Chairman	are	determined	and	
agreed	with	the	Board	by	the	Committee	
(without	the	Chairman	being	party	to	this).	
Non-executive	Director	fees	are	
determined	by	the	Chairman	and	the	
Executive	Directors.	
Fees	are	reviewed	periodically	and	in	
setting	fees	consideration	is	given	to	
market	data	for	similar	roles	in	companies	
of	comparable	size	and	complexity	whilst	
also	taking	account	of	the	required	time	
commitment.
All	Non-executive	Directors	are	paid	a	
base	fee.	Additional	fees	are	paid	to		
the	Senior	Independent	Director,	the		
chair	of	Board	Committees	and	to	other	
Non-executive	Directors	to	reflect	
additional	time	commitments	and	
responsibilities	required	by	their	role.	
66
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCE	
Explanatory notes:
1. Why these performance measures were chosen and 
how performance targets are set 
STI Scheme - The performance measures for the STI Scheme 
reflect the main financial contributors to sustaining  
returns for shareholders and the Group strategic objectives 
to ensure that management is incentivised on the important 
projects needed to support the strategy. The Remuneration 
Committee determines the measures, their weighting  
and the targets for each financial year. The measures will be 
based upon the most relevant taken from a selection of 
measures which may include costs, IFRS pre-tax profit, EEV 
operating profit, cash generation, Group strategic objectives 
and personal performance. The maximum potential award 
requires significant outperformance of budgeted targets. 
LTI Scheme - The performance measures for the LTI Scheme 
have been selected for their alignment to shareholder 
interests using an absolute measure (growth in Group EEV) 
and a comparative measure (TSR). The measures and the 
targets are set by the Committee. The maximum potential 
award for the Group EEV measure requires significant 
outperformance of budgeted targets. The TSR measure uses 
the FTSE 350 Higher Yield Index over a three year period with 
averaging during the first and last month. The Committee 
currently considers this to be an appropriate comparator given 
Chesnara’s strategic aims and focus on dividend payments.
–  All taxable benefits: There are no differences in policy 
although the benefits available vary by personnel and 
jurisdiction and with job role. For example cars and health 
insurance benefits are broadly consistent with the equivalent 
benefits when offered to UK Non-Director personnel. 
Executive Directors receive fuel allowances which is a 
benefit not offered to other grades receiving a car allowance.
–  Annual bonus: This is an integral part of the Company’s 
philosophy with all UK employees below Board level being 
eligible to participate in a bonus scheme which is based on 
service and achievement of financial targets. Senior 
managers in Sweden participate in annual bonus schemes 
which reflect the achievement of business targets and 
personal goals. In line with Swedish regulations part of the 
payment of this bonus is deferred. Other employees in 
Sweden participate in a scheme based on the achievement 
of company-wide business goals.
–  Long-term plans: Only Executive Directors are entitled  
to participate in the long-term plans as these are the roles 
which have most influence on and accountability for  
the strategic direction of the business and the delivery of 
returns to shareholders.
–  Pension: The level of contribution made by the Company to 
Executive Directors is similar to that offered to the majority 
of other UK employees. Certain employees do receive lower 
company pension contributions.
In setting targets for both Schemes, the Committee exercises 
its judgement to try and ensure that there is a balance 
between stretch in the targets and the company’s risk appetite. 
Details of the performance measures, weightings and  
targets and the corresponding potential awards are set out in 
the Implementation Plan. (For 2015 see page 77).
4. Other
The last SAYE expired in 2014. The Committee has the 
discretion to renew the SAYE scheme, a tax efficient  
all employee scheme in which Executive Directors are 
eligible to participate.
The Future Policy table notes that all the financial targets for 
the STI Scheme are commercially sensitive as is one of the 
measures for the LTI Scheme. The Committee has considered 
whether it could reasonably use transparent targets but 
concluded that transparency should not be sought at the 
expense of choosing the right ones for the alignment of 
Executive Director and shareholder interests even if these  
are not capable of being disclosed upfront.
Approach to remuneration on recruitment
The following principles apply when recruiting  
Executive Directors:
–  To offer a remuneration package that is sufficient to attract 
individuals with the skills and experience appropriate to the 
role to be filled whilst also being consistent with this 
Policy. In addition to salary and variable remuneration, this 
may include pension, taxable benefits and other allowances 
such as relocation, housing and education.
2. Changes to the Executive Directors’ incentive schemes
–  Pay levels will be set taking account of remuneration across 
In 2013 the Committee undertook a wide ranging review of 
the Executive Directors’ incentive schemes primarily to better 
align the interests of Executive Directors and shareholders; 
and to improve the balance of awards between short-term 
results and achievement of longer-term strategic initiatives. 
The review resulted in two new schemes being approved by 
shareholders at the 2014 AGM. Information explaining how 
the new and old schemes compare is set out in the approved 
Policy Report which is available on the Chesnara website.
3. Differences in policy compared with other employees:
The following note outlines any differences in the 
Company’s policy on Executive Director remuneration from 
other employees of the Group.
–  Salary and fees: Salary and fees: There are no differences 
in policy. The Committee takes into account the Company’s 
overall salary budget and percentage increases made to 
other employees.
the company including other senior appointees, and  
the salary offered for similar roles by other companies of 
similar size and complexity.
– Each element of remuneration offered will be considered 
separately and collectively in this context.
–  The maximum awards in respect of the STI Scheme and 
LTI Scheme as set out in the tables on pages 65 and 66 
apply in recruitment situations, save that exceptionally the 
Company may award a one-off compensatory bonus or LTI 
award where the new joiner would lose a bonus or long-term 
award relating to his or her former role. In the event that 
such a payment is made, full details will be disclosed  
in the Annual Report on remuneration for the relevant year.
67
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION CDIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
REMUNER ATION POLICY REPORT (CONTINUED)
Service contracts and loss of office
Executive Directors
Our policy is for Executive Directors to have service contracts with a rolling twelve-month notice period.
The table below summarises the notice periods and other termination rights of the Executive Directors and the 
Company. The approach of the Company on any termination is to consider all relevant circumstances and to  
act in accordance with any relevant rules or contractual provisions. Typically, a leaving employee is classified 
as a ‘Good Leaver’ if they depart under ‘Special Circumstances’ (defined in the table below). An employee 
leaving under any other circumstances is classified as a ‘Bad Leaver’.
The Committee has discretion to classify an employee as a Good Leaver or a Bad Leaver and to determine 
the treatment of their outstanding awards upon departure. Typical treatment in relation to salary, benefits 
and outstanding incentive awards for leavers under each scenario is shown below:
Nature of  
termination
Notice  
period
Salary and  
benefits
Short-Term Incentive  
scheme
Long-Term Incentive  
scheme
Pension
Cease		
on	date		
employment	
ends.
Cease		
on	date		
employment	
ends.
Cease		
on	date		
employment	
ends.
12	months.
By Executive 
Director or 
company giving 
notice (excluding  
special 
circumstances  
see below).
Cease	on	date	
employment	
ends.
Payment	may	be	
made	for	any	
unused	holiday	
entitlement.
No	grants	following	service	of	notice.
Right	to	cash	payment	and	unvested	
deferred	share	awards	cease	on	date	
employment	ends.
Outstanding	options	must	be		
exercised	within	6	months	of	date	
employment	ends.
No	grants	following		
service	of	notice.
Unvested	awards	lapse	on	
date	employment	ends.
Outstanding	options		
must	be	exercised		
within	6	months	of	date	
employment	ends.
By Company  
summarily.
None.
Cease	on	date	
employment	
ends.
None	
prescribed.
Special 
circumstances: 
leaving by reason  
of death, injury  
or disability, 
redundancy, 
retirement with  
the agreement of 
the Remuneration 
Committee, the 
sale of employing  
business or 
company, or  
other special 
circumstances  
at the discretion  
of the Committee.
Normally		
cease	on	date	
employment	
ends.	
Payment	may	be	
made	for	any	
unused	holiday	
entitlement.	
Discretion	to	
Company	to		
pay	salary	and	
benefits	in	a	
single	payment		
or	in	monthly	
instalments.	
Where	payments	
are	made		
monthly	the	
executive	is		
under	an	
obligation	to	
mitigate	his	or		
her	loss	and	
monthly	
payments	will	
cease	or		
reduce	upon		
the	executive	
accepting	
alternative	
employment.
No	further	grants.
No	further	grants.
Right	to	cash	payment	and	unvested	
deferred	share	awards	cease	on	date	
employment	ends.
Outstanding	options	must	be		
exercised	within	6	months	of	date	
employment	ends.
Unvested	awards	lapse	on	
date	employment	ends.
Outstanding	options		
must	be	exercised		
within	6	months	of	date	
employment	ends.
Discretion	to	make	further	grants	during		
a	notice	period	where	this	is	considered	
to	be	in	the	company’s	interests.
Where	employment	ends	before		
deferred	share	awards	made,	at	the	
discretion	of	the	Committee,	the	award	
may	be	retained.
If	retained,	the	Committee	has	discretion	
to	allow	the	award	to	vest	in	accordance	
with	original	terms,	or	determine	award	is	
to	vest	on	ceasing	to	be	employed	and	
will	also	assess	the	extent	to	which	
targets	have	been	met.
In	either	case	the	award	will	be	pro-rated	
to	reflect	period	of	Performance	Period	
that	has	been	worked	and	will	be	paid	in	
cash.	Committee	has	discretion	to	
pro-rate	using	a	longer	period.	
Where	employment	ends	after	deferred	
share	awards	made,	the	award	will	be	
retained	and	vest	in	accordance	with	
original	terms.	The	Committee	has	
discretion	to	allow	the	award	to	vest	on	
ceasing	to	be	employed.
All	outstanding	options	must	be	
exercised	within	six	months	of	the	date	
on	which	employment	ends	or	on	which	
they	vest	(whichever	is	later),	unless	the	
Committee	specifies	a	longer	period.
No	further	grants.	
Where	employment	ends	
before	share	awards	vest,		
at	the	discretion	of	the	
Committee	the	award	may	
be	retained.	If	retained,	the	
Committee	has	discretion	to	
allow	the	award	to	vest	in	
accordance	with	original	
terms	or,	may	determine	
awards	to	vest	on	ceasing	to	
be	employed	and	will	also	
assess	the	extent	to	which	
the	targets	have	been	met.	
In	either	case	the	award	will	
be	pro-rated	to	reflect	the	
period	of	the	Performance	
Period	that	has	been	
worked.	Committee	has	
discretion	to	pro-rate	using	
a	longer	period.	
All	outstanding	options	
must	be	exercised	within		
6	months	of	the	date	on	
which	employment	ends		
or	on	which	they	vest	
(whichever	is	later)	unless	
the	Committee	specifies	a	
longer	period.
68
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCENon-executive Directors
–  Appointments are made under a contract for services for an 
initial term of three years subject to election by shareholders 
at the first Annual General Meeting following their appointment 
and annual re-election thereafter.
Other Directorships
Executive Directors may, if approved by the Board, accept 
appointments as non-executive directors of suitable 
organisations. Normally fees for such positions are paid to 
the Company, unless the Board determines otherwise.
–  Non-executive Directors are typically expected to serve two 
three-year terms but may be invited by the Board to serve 
for an additional period. Any renewal is subject to Board 
review and AGM re-election.
–  The terms of an appointment are set out in a letter of 
appointment which can be terminated by either party with 
three months’ notice.
–  There are no compensation terms regardless of the 
circumstances that may lead to a contract being terminated.
Illustration of application of Remuneration Policy
The view of the Committee is that there should be balance 
between fixed and variable pay such that when stretching 
performance targets have been achieved in full around half 
of an Executive Directors’ earnings are variable and half 
are fixed. The Committee believes that this is appropriate 
given the strategy of the Company and its risk appetite.
The charts below provide estimates of the potential future 
reward opportunities for each Executive Director, and  
the potential split between the different elements of 
remuneration under three different performance scenarios: 
‘Minimum’, ‘In line with expectation’ and ‘Maximum’.  
The illustration assumes that the 2015 LTI and STI Schemes 
apply throughout the period.
Chief Executive Officer
Finance Director
Business Services Director
£000’s
	 Long-term	incentive
	 Annual	variable
	 Fixed
603
13%
17%
423
963
28%
28%
100%
70%
44%
541
28%
28%
44%
343
13%
17%
70%
240
100%
548
28%
28%
44%
237
100%
338
13%
17%
70%
Minimum
In line with 
expectation
Maximum
Minimum
In line with 
expectation
Maximum
Minimum
In line with 
expectation
Maximum
Minimum
The table below analyses the constitution of the minimum remuneration projection for 2015: 
Director 
Chief	Executive	Officer	
Finance	Director	
Business	Services	Director	
Salary and fees  
£000  
Benefits  
£000  
Pension  
£000  
Total fixed pay
£000
360		
203		
206		
29		
18		
18		
34		
16		
16		
423
237
240
The pension information above includes the employer contribution element of the pension value. This can vary by Director, 
and is between 7.5% and 9.5% of gross basic salary.
Statement of shareholder views
The review of Executive Director incentives carried out during 2013 by the Remuneration Committee took into account views 
expressed by shareholders in connection with the 2012 Remuneration Report. Following the strong support expressed by 
shareholders at the AGM in May 2014 for the Remuneration Policy, Remuneration Report and two new incentive schemes 
there has been no further shareholder engagement in connection with remuneration. 
69
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION C 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
ANNUAL REMUNER ATION REPORT
Single total figure of remuneration for each Director (audited information)
The remuneration of the Executive Directors for the years ended 31 December 2014 and 31 December 2013 is made up as follows:
Executive Directors’ remuneration as a single figure – year ended 31 December 2014
Name of Director 
Salary   All taxable   Non taxable  
benefits  
benefits  
£000  
£000  
and fees  
£000  
Annual  
bonuses  
£000  
LTIP  
£000  
Pension  
£000  
Graham	Kettleborough*	
John	Deane	(appointed	3	December	2014)	
David	Rimmington	
Frank	Hughes	
Total 
328		
30		
188		
203		
749  
20		
2		
13		
14		
49  
8		
–		
5		
5		
18  
225		
–		
128		
139		
492  
100		
–		
–		
61		
161  
31		
3		
16		
15		
65  
Total for
2014
£000
712
35
350
437
1,534
 *On 31 December 2014 Graham Kettleborough ceased to be a Director of the Company, and will leave employment during 2015. With the exception of 
the Annual Bonus and LTIP figures quoted above, the table does not reflect the payments that have been awarded to Graham as a result of ceasing to 
hold office. These have been disclosed on page 74.
Executive Directors’ remuneration as a single figure – year ended 31 December 2013
Name of Director 
Salary   All taxable   Non taxable  
benefits  
benefits  
£000  
£000  
and fees  
£000  
Annual  
bonuses  
£000  
LTIP  
£000  
Total for
Pension  
£000  
Graham	Kettleborough	
Ken	Romney	(resigned	17	May	2013)	
David	Rimmington	(appointed	17	May	2013)	
Frank	Hughes	
Total 
320		
80		
98		
198		
696  
21		
5		
9		
14		
49  
8		
2		
2		
5		
17  
320		
–		
98		
198		
616  
–		
–		
–		
–		
–  
33		
14		
8		
19		
74  
2013
£000
702
101
215
434
1,452
The remuneration of the Non-executive Directors for the years ended 31 December 2014 and 31 December 2013 is made up as follows:
Non-executive Directors’ remuneration as a single figure – year ended 31 December 2014
Name of Director 
Peter	Mason	
Peter	Wright	
Veronica	Oak	(née	France)		
David	Brand		
Mike	Evans		
Total 
Non-executive Directors’ remuneration as a single figure – year ended 31 December 2013
Name of Director 
Peter	Mason	
Mike	Gordon	(resigned	on	17	May	2013)	
Terry	Marris	(resigned	on	17	May	2013)	
Peter	Wright	
Veronica	Oak	(née	France	-	appointed	16	January	2013)	
David	Brand	(appointed	16	January	2013)	
Mike	Evans	(appointed	4	March	2013)	
Total 
Salary   All taxable  
benefits  
£000  
and fees  
£000  
Total for
2014
£000
100		
60		
50		
45		
45		
300  
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–  
100
60
50
45
45
300
Salary   All taxable  
benefits  
£000  
and fees  
£000  
Total for
2013
£000
90		
17		
15		
60		
46		
43		
37		
308  
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–  
90
17
15
60
46
43
37
308
The fees for Veronica Oak include an additional fee of £5,000 per annum, payable for two years only commencing in May 2013 for the 
increased workload for the Remuneration Committee Chairman in designing and implementing the new incentive schemes and adopting new 
regulatory requirements.
70
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCE  
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
Single total figure of remuneration for each Director (continued)
Salary and fees
Basic salaries are usually reviewed annually by the Remuneration Committee. Assessments are made giving full regard to 
external factors such as earnings inflation and industry benchmarks and to internal factors such as changes to the role by 
way of either structural reorganisations or enlargement of the Group. In addition, basic pay levels reflect levels of experience. 
The single earnings figures demonstrate the application of this assessment process. David Rimmington’s salary was 
reviewed in 2014 and, based on experience and performance in his role as Group Finance Director, he was awarded a salary 
increase of £25,000 per annum effective from 1 June 2014.
Taxable benefits
The taxable benefits relate to the provision of a car, fuel allowance and medical insurance.
Annual bonuses
The amount reported as Annual Bonuses in 2014 is entirely made up of awards made under the 2014 STI scheme. The amounts 
awarded to the Executive Directors under the 2014 STI scheme are based on performance against three core measures, being 
IFRS pre-tax profit, EEV operating profit and Group Strategic Objectives. The table below shows the outcome of each measure 
when compared with the target and the resulting 2014 STI award.
Percentage 
On target 
award for  performance 
Upper 
threshold for 
minimum 
min 
performance  performance 
Percentage 
Minimum 
award for on   threshold for  
maximum 
Percentage 
award for 
maximum 
  performance  performance  performance 
target 
Actual 
result 
Actual 
percentage 
total award 
Actual 
percentage 
award as  
%age of
salary
IFRS	pre-tax	result	
EEV	operating	result	
Group	strategic	
objectives	
≤£13.925m	
≤£14.79m	
0%	
0%	
£18.566m	*	
£16,436m	
15.0%	
12.8%	
£37.132m	
£24.654m	
≤60%	of	max	
0%	
80%	of	max	
10.0%	
100%	
50%	
30%	
20%	
£34.807m	*	
£37.522m	
91.4%
of	max
47%	
30%	
16%	
34.2%
22.5%
11.8%
For results between the performance thresholds, a straight-line basis applies.
 *Note – this is stated after certain adjustments, such as consolidation adjustments. The actual results are also adjusted in the same manner. 
The Group strategic objectives outcome reflects progress of the Solvency II project in line with plans, operational improvements in the UK  
and Sweden and the Part VII transfer of Protection Life.
Name of Director 
Graham	Kettleborough*	
David	Rimmington	
Frank	Hughes	
Total 
Salary on 
  which award 
based 
£ 
Maximum 
potential 
award 
as %age 
of salary 
Actual  
award as  
%age of 
salary 
Total  
value of  
award 
£ 
328,189	
187,500	
202,814	
75.00%	
75.00%	
75.00%	
68.47%	
68.47%	
68.47%	
224,716	
128,384
138,870
491,970
 *Awarded as part of package following cessation of being a Director. Graham is not required to defer 35% of the award into shares.
35% of above awards are granted as deferred share awards that will vest at the end of a three year deferred period.
LTIPs
The bonus and incentive schemes included in the amounts reported for 2014 are as follows:
Scheme 
EEV Target  EEV Outcome 
31 Dec 2014 
31 Dec 2014 
 % of salary  
Graham  
awarded  Kettleborough 
Frank 
Hughes 
Total 
2012	LTIP	
£279.9m	
£417.2m	
34%	
£99,775	
£61,151	
£160,926
 Amount payable(£)* 
Under the 2012 Annual Bonus element the award was 66% of salary. The 2012 annual bonus and LTIP elements share a 
bonus cap of 100% of basic salary. The outcome of the LTIP element exceeded target and therefore the bonus cap has 
had the effect of limiting the LTIP bonus payment to 34% of salary which was paid in January 2015.
Pension
The pension component in the single figure table represents employer’s contributions that form part of the Director’s 
remuneration package. The employer’s contribution is based on a fixed percentage of each Executive’s salary, and can 
vary between Executives.
71
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION C 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
	
DIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
ANNUAL REMUNER ATION REPORT (CONTINUED)
Scheme interests awarded during the financial year 
(audited information)
Up until and including 2011 the LTIP schemes for Executive 
Directors were effectively based on single year performance 
measures with payments deferred for three years. As such any 
amounts due from pre-2012 LTIP schemes have been 
recognised within the single earnings figures for the original 
performance assessment year. That is, all awards have already 
crystallised prior to this financial year and have been reported.
The LTIP schemes for 2012 and 2013 depend upon three year 
EEV projection targets being met or exceeded. As such  
value in the 2012 scheme has crystallised during 2014, with 
the value for the 2013 scheme crystallising during 2015.  
Note however that for 2012 and 2013 the total maximum 
combined bonus from the short term annual incentive plans 
and long term incentive plans is capped at 100% of basic 
salary. In light of the annual bonuses earned in 2012 and 2013, 
the maximum potential value from these schemes is relatively 
limited, as follows:
–  2012 LTIP - Annual bonus payments during 2012 
represented 65.48% of the total basic salary and as such 
the maximum value for the 2012 LTIP scheme maturing this 
year is 34.52% of basic salary.
–  2013 LTIP - the annual bonus represented 100% of basic salary 
and hence the 2013 LTIP has no potential value on vesting.
The table below sets out potential long-term incentive scheme interests that have accrued during the year, and each 
Director’s interest in that scheme:
Name of  
Executive
Director
Name of  
scheme
Type and basis of award  
(note 4)
Face value  
(note 1)  
Graham	
Kettleborough*
2014		
LTI
Share	options.	78,390	share	
options	awarded	equal	to	75%	
of	basic	salary	using	the	share	
price	at	close	of	business	on	
19	May	2014.
£243,205	based		
on	share	price	
(310.25p)	on		
date	of	grant		
(20	May	2014).
Options	have	a	nil	exercise	
price.
Length  
of vesting 
period
3	years	–	
vesting	date		
31	December	
2016.
Summary of performance measures  
and targets 
Total Shareholder Return
50%	of	the	award	will	vest	subject	to	the	TSR		
target	being	in	a	certain	range,	with	the	range	being	the	ranking	
of	the	TSR	of	Chesnara	against	the	TSR	of	the	individual	
companies	in	the	FTSE	350	Higher	Yield	Index.	The	award	will	
be	made	on	a	sliding	scale	from	nil	if	the	Chesnara	TSR	is	below		
the	median	to	full	if	the	Chesnara	TSR	is	in	the	upper	quartile.	
EEV growth target
50%	of	the	award	will	vest	subject	to	the	EEV	outcome	being	
within	a	certain	range	of	the	Embedded	Value	target.	The	award	
will	be	made	on	a	sliding	scale	with	nil	being	paid	out	if	the	
outcome	is	less	than	or	equal	to	89%	of	target,	up	to	a	maximum	
pay-out	if	the	outcome	is	greater	than	or	equal	to	114%	of	target.
2013		
LTIP
Cash
2012		
LTIP
Cash	
–
£99,775
3	years	–	
vesting	date		
31	December	
2015.
Based	on	achievement	of	a	target	share	price	at	the	end	of	2015:	
Rewards	on	a	sliding	scale	from	0%	of	basic	annual	salary	on	
achievement	of	75%	of	target	to	21.05%	of	basic	annual	salary	
on	achievement	of	target,	continuing	on	a	straight	line	basis	if	
target	is	exceeded.	(Note	2).
3	years	-	
vesting	date		
31	December	
2014.
Based	on	achievement	of	a	target	share	price	at	the	end	of	2014:	
Rewards	on	a	sliding	scale	from	0%	of	basic	annual	salary	on	
achievement	of	75%	of	target	to	21.05%	of	basic	annual	salary		
on	achievement	of	target,	continuing	on	a	straight	line	basis	if	
target	is	exceeded.	(Note	2).
The	Remuneration	Committee	assessed	that	the	performance	
criteria	for	this	scheme	was	met.	Payment	was	made	in	January	
2015	and,	as	explained	above,	the	amount	was	capped	by	the	
remaining	proportion	of	the	shared	bonus	cap	(34.52%	of	salary).	
 *Note: Please see page 74 for how the value accruing during 2014 for each of these schemes has been dealt in light of Graham ceasing to hold office on  
31 December 2014.
72
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCEScheme interests awarded during the financial year (audited information)(continued)
Name of  
Executive
Director
Frank		
Hughes
Name of  
scheme
Type and basis of award
 (note 4)
Face value  
(note 1)  
2014		
LTI
Share	options.	48,443	share	
options	awarded	equal	to		
75%	of	basic	salary	using		
the	share	price	at	close	of	
business	on	19	May	2014.
£150,294	based		
on	share	price	
(310.25p)	on		
date	of	grant		
(20	May	2014).
Options	have	a	nil		
exercise	price.
Length  
of vesting 
period
3	years	–	
vesting	date		
31	December	
2016.
Summary of performance measures  
and targets
Total Shareholder Return
50%	of	the	award	will	vest	subject	to	the	TSR	target	being	in		
a	certain	range,	with	the	range	being	the	ranking	of	the	TSR		
of	Chesnara	against	the	TSR	of	the	individual	companies	in		
the	FTSE	350	Higher	Yield	Index.	The	award	will	be	made	on	a	
sliding	scale	from	nil	if	the	Chesnara	TSR	is	below	the	median		
to	full	if	the	Chesnara	TSR	is	in	the	upper	quartile.
EEV growth target
50%	of	the	award	will	vest	subject	to	the	EEV	outcome	being	
within	a	certain	range	of	the	Embedded	Value	target.	The		
award	will	be	made	on	a	sliding	scale	with	nil	being	paid	out		
if	the	outcome	is	less	than	or	equal	to	89%	of	target,	up	to	a	
maximum	pay-out	if	the	outcome	is	greater	than	or	equal	to	
114%	of	target.
2013		
LTIP
Cash
2012		
LTI
Cash
–
£61,204
3	years	–	
vesting	date		
31	December	
2015.
Based	on	achievement	of	a	target	share	price	at	the	end	of	2015:	
Rewards	on	a	sliding	scale	from	0%	of	basic	annual	salary	on	
achievement	of	75%	of	target	to	21.05%	of	basic	annual	salary	
on	achievement	of	target,	continuing	on	a	straight	line	basis	if	
target	is	exceeded.	(Note	2)
3	years	–	
vesting	date		
31	December	
2014.
Based	on	achievement	of	a	target	share	price	at	the	end	of	2014:	
Rewards	on	a	sliding	scale	from	0%	of	basic	annual	salary	on	
achievement	of	75%	of	target	to	21.05%	of	basic	annual	salary	
on	achievement	of	target,	continuing	on	a	straight	line	basis	if	
target	is	exceeded.	(Note	2).
David	
Rimmington
2014		
LTIP
Share	options.	41,800	share	
options	awarded	equal	to		
75%	of	basic	salary	using		
the	share	price	at	close	of	
business	on	19	May	2014.
£129,685	based		
on	share	price	
(310.25p)	on		
date	of	grant		
(20	May	2014).
3	years	–	
vesting	date		
31	December	
2016.
Options	have	a	nil		
exercise	price
The	Remuneration	Committee	assessed	that	the	performance	
criteria	for	this	scheme	was	met.	Payment	was	made	in	January	
2015	and,	as	explained	above,	the	amount	was	capped	by	the	
remaining	proportion	of	the	shared	bonus	cap	(34.52%	of	salary).
Total Shareholder Return
50%	of	the	award	will	vest	subject	to	the	TSR	target	being	in	a	
certain	range,	with	the	range	being	the	ranking	of	the	TSR	of	
Chesnara	against	the	TSR	of	the	individual	companies	in	the	
FTSE	350	Higher	Yield	Index.	The	award	will	be	made	on	a	
sliding	scale	from	nil	if	the	Chesnara	TSR	is	below	the	median		
to	full	if	the	Chesnara	TSR	is	in	the	upper	quartile.
EEV growth target
50%	of	the	award	will	vest	subject	to	the	EEV	outcome	being	
within	a	certain	range	of	the	Embedded	Value	target.	The	award	
will	be	made	on	a	sliding	scale	with	nil	being	paid	out	if	the	
outcome	is	less	than	or	equal	to	89%	of	target,	up	to	a	maximum	
pay-out	if	the	outcome	is	greater	than	or	equal	to	114%	of	target.
2013		
LTIP
Cash
–
3	years	–	
vesting	date		
31	December	
2015.
Based	on	achievement	of	a	target	share	price	at	the	end		
of	2015:	Rewards	on	a	sliding	scale	from	0%	of	basic	annual	
salary	on	achievement	of	75%	of	target	to	21.05%	of	basic	
annual	salary	on	achievement	of	target,	continuing	on	a		
straight	line	basis	if	target	is	exceeded.	(Note	2;	Note	3).
Note 1 – The face value is reported as the estimate of the maximum 
potential value on vesting.
Note 3 – Any amounts vesting will be subject to a pro rata 
adjustment to reflect scheme entry part way through the year.
Note 2 – For the 2013 and 2012 LTIP, any payments, together with  
the annual bonus, would normally be capped, on award, at 100% of 
basic salary.
Note 4 – No awards are made if performance is below the  
minimum criteria.
73
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION CDIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
ANNUAL REMUNER ATION REPORT (CONTINUED)
Payments for ceasing to hold office  
(audited information)
On 3 December 2014 Graham Kettleborough gave notice 
of his intention to resign from the Board and the Company. 
The Remuneration Committee is of the view that Graham 
considered the interests of the business in the timing  
of his resignation, which coincided with the successful 
conclusion of negotiations and a placing to acquire the 
Waard Group in the Netherlands, and the Company being 
in a position, through its succession plans, to have 
appointed a suitable successor. In the circumstances, the 
Remuneration Committee formed the view that the 
arrangements and payments set out below were in the 
interests of the Company and its shareholders and in line 
with the Company’s Remuneration Policy and contractual 
agreements with Graham. The total amount for loss of 
office is as follows:
–  Contractual remuneration entitlements to 31 March 2015: 
Graham to continue to receive normal pay and benefits under 
the terms of his service contract from 3 December 2014 to  
31 March 2015.
–  Payment in lieu of notice and awards from incentive plans: 
Graham will cease to be employed by the Company on  
31 March 2015, and at that time he will receive a payment in 
lieu of his contractual remuneration entitlements for the 
remaining proportion of his twelve month notice period as  
set out in the table below. This table also shows how the 
Remuneration Committee (“Committee”) has assessed the 
treatment of outstanding awards under the various incentive 
schemes in which Graham participates including where  
any discretion has been exercised and the amounts / value of 
such awards.
Description 
Amount £  
Explanation of how calculated
Pay	in	lieu	of	salary	and	benefits	
276,214	
Use	and	loss	of	company	car	
8,200		
2012	LTIP	
99,775		
2014	Short-term	incentive	scheme	
224,716		
2014	Long-term	incentive	scheme	
46,969		
This	represents	payment	of	basic	salary	(£221,317),	accrued	holidays		
	(£23,352),	pension	contributions	(£20,959)	and	other	taxable	/		
non-taxable	benefits	(£10,586)	for	the	8	months	and	2	days	of	the		
remaining	contractual	notice	period.
This	represents	the	value	of	the	use	of	a	company	car	between	31	March 		
2015	and	29	June	2015	and	compensation	for	loss	of	use		
of	a	company	car	for	the	period	30	June	2015	to	2	December	2015.
This	represents	the	value	accrued	under	the	2012	LTIP.
The	Committee	has	exercised	its	discretion	to	determine	that	
	the	award	shall	be	retained	in	full.	This	is	also	captured	in	the	
	“single	figure	earnings	table”	on	page	70.
This	represents	the	value	accrued	under	the	2014	STI	scheme.	
The	Committee	has	exercised	its	discretion	and	determined	that	this		
award	will	be	paid	in	cash	with	no	deferral	into	shares.	
This	is	also	captured	in	the	“single	figure	earnings	table”	on	page	70.
The	Committee	determined	that	Graham	should	retain	a	time		
rated	proportion	of	the	share	options	awarded	to	him	under	the	2014	LTI		
Scheme	Award	-	26,130	shares	as	compared	with	78,390	originally	granted.		
The	Committee	has	assessed	the	performance	of	the	measures	under		
the	Scheme	against	what	the	Committee	consider	to	be	fair	proportionate		
performance	targets	as	at	31	December	2014.	Graham	led,	and	was		
critical	to,	completion	of	the	acquisition	of	the	Waard	Group	and	to	the		
fund	raising	so,	in	making	its	performance	assessment,	the	Committee		
has	made	an	adjustment	to	the	Embedded	Value	to	reflect	the	positive		
effect	that	completion	of	the	acquisition	of	the	Waard	Group	is	expected		
to	have	and	for	the	timing	of	the	acquisition	expenses.	As	a	result	Graham		
will,	on	31	March	2015,	be	awarded	13,065	shares.	The	Committee		
also	determined	that	the	options	will	remain	exercisable	until		
30	November	2015	and	in	accordance	with	the	Scheme	Rules	an	amount		
in	respect	of	dividends	with	interest	thereon	will	be	payable	when		
the	options	are	exercised.	The	value	shown	in	based	on	the	share	price		
on	24	March	2015	(359.50	pence).
Total 
655,874 
The Company paid £1,000 on behalf of Graham in respect of legal services received in relation to his cessation of office.
74
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCE	
		
	
		
	
		
	
		
	
		
Statement of Directors’ shareholding and share interests (audited information)
The Remuneration policy, which was effective from the 2014 AGM, requires Executive Directors to hold shares to the value 
of their basic salary. Directors may dispose of shares even when the minimum holding level has not been achieved  
where funds are required to discharge any income tax and National Insurance liabilities arising from awards received from  
a Chesnara incentive plan.
The table below shows, in relation to each Director, the total number of share interests with and without performance 
conditions, the total number of share options with and without performance measures, those vested but unexercised and 
those exercised at 31 December 2014 or the date of resignation. 
The share options that were exercised during the year relate to the maturity of the “save as you earn” scheme that was 
instigated in 2011 and matured in 2014. The option price of the shares in the save as you earn scheme was 173.4p per share.
No changes took place in the interests of the Directors between 31 December 2014 and 30 March 2015.
Name of Director 
Shares 
Options
With  
Without  
performance   performance   performance   performance  
Without  
With  
measures  
measures  
measures  
Vested  
but  
measures *  unexercised  
Graham	Kettleborough		
(ceased	to	be	being	a	Director	on
31	December	2014)	
John	Deane	
(appointed	on	3	December	2014)	
David	Rimmington	
Frank	Hughes	
Peter	Mason	
Peter	Wright	
Veronica	Oak
Veronica	Oak	(née	France)	
David	Brand	
Mike	Evans	
Total 
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–  
87,512		
26,130		
9,677		
8,048		
12,123		
21,743		
70,000		
2,000		
3,000		
6,452		
–		
41,800		
48,443		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
220,555  
116,373  
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–  
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–		
–  
Exercised
during the
year
5,190
–
5,190
5,190
–
–
–
–
–
15,570
 *The “options without performance measures” column in the above table does not include the share options that will be awarded 
as part of the mandatory deferral rules of the 2014 STI Scheme, which equate to 35% of the cash award under this scheme. The 
timetable for the administration of the Scheme means that these will be reported in the 2015 Annual Report & Accounts.
Performance graph and CEO remuneration table
The following graph shows the Company’s performance 
compared with the performance of the FTSE 350 Higher 
Yield Index and the FTSE UK Life Insurance Index. The 
FTSE 350 Higher Yield Index has been selected as a 
comparison because it is the index used by the Company 
for the performance criterion for the 2014 and 2015 
Long-term Incentive Scheme, and the FTSE UK Life 
Insurance Index has been selected due to Chesnara’s 
inclusion within this index.
300
250
200
150
100
x
e
d
n
I
R
S
T
50
	 Jan	10	
 Chesnara total shareholder return rebased
 FTSE UK Life Insurance Index, rebased
 FTSE 350 Higher Yield Index, rebased
Jan	11	
Jan	12	
Jan	13	
Jan	14
75
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION C 
 
 
 
DIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
ANNUAL REMUNER ATION REPORT (CONTINUED)
Performance graph and CEO remuneration table (continued)
The table below sets out the details for the Director undertaking the role of Chief Executive Officer (Graham Kettleborough):
Year 
2014	
2013	
2012	
2011	
2010	
CEO single  
figure of total  
remuneration  
£000  
Annual bonus  
pay-out  
against  
maximum  
%  
712		
702		
612		
384		
631		
91.30%		
100.00%		
65.48%		
17.39%		
100.00%		
Long-term  
incentive  
vesting  
rates against  
maximum  
opportunity  
%  
34.52%		
n/a		
100.00%		
n/a		
n/a		
Note
1
2
3
4
4
Note 1 – During 2014 an LTIP that was granted to the 
CEO in 2012 vested. The LTIP included a condition 
such that the sum of the LTIPs and annual bonuses 
awarded in that year could not exceed 100% of the 
CEO’s salary. The annual bonus in 2012 amounted to 
65.48% of salary. When the performance measurements 
for the 2012 LTIP were assessed, the award was 
required to be restricted due to the operation of the 
100% cap combined cap, such that the 2012 LTIP  
paid out 34.52% of the salary at the time of award.
During 2014 the annual bonus that was awarded 
represented 70% of the CEO’s salary. The maximum 
payable was 75% of the CEO’s salary, resulting in  
a 91.30% pay-out with reference to the maximum 
potential award.
Note 2 – During 2013 no LTIP value was earned 
because the annual bonus in isolation has accounted 
for the full 100% combined bonus cap.
Note 3 – The vesting percentage in 2012 within the 
Long-term incentive column does not relate to a formal 
LTIP scheme. It relates to a discretionary supplementary 
scheme established in 2009 to recognise the value 
added to the Group from the acquisition of Movestic. 
The amount vesting has been classified in the LTIP 
column due to the fact its award was subject to certain 
future performance criteria being achieved. That 
scheme has generated the maximum potential value of 
£75,000 in 2012. The formal 2012 LTIP scheme has 
contributed no value to the total single remuneration 
figure as it does not vest until performance criteria have 
been achieved in 2014.
Note 4 – Prior to 2012 the LTIP schemes were in fact 
better characterised as deferred annual bonus schemes. 
As such they are classified within the annual bonus value 
and any value is included in the annual bonus pay-out 
against maximum percentage. 
Percentage change in remuneration for Director undertaking the role of Chief Executive Officer
The table below shows the percentage change in remuneration for the Director undertaking the role of Chief Executive 
Officer and the Company’s employees as a whole between the years 2014 and 2013.
Percentage change in remuneration in 2014 compared with 2013 
Salary	and	fees	
All	taxable	benefits	
Annual	bonuses	
CEO  
2.50%		
(0.06)%		
(29.82)%		
Group
employees
1.55%
(3.02)%
(5.07)%
76
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014SECTION C CORPORATE GOVERNANCE  
  
  
 
  
  
		
		
		
		
		
		
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
Relative importance of spend on pay
The graph to the right shows the actual expenditure of the 
Group and change between the current and previous years:
Due to Chesnara adopting a strategy of outsourcing much  
of its activities the level of total employee pay is relatively 
low in comparison to dividends. In addition, the graph shows 
a comparison with the Group’s total acquisition and 
maintenance expenditure. As can be seen, the total employee 
pay is relatively small against our overall cost base.
£000
180,000
160,000
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
	 2014		
	 2013
+3%
+3%
Total employee 
pay
Business 
acquisition and 
maintenance 
expenditure
+3%
Dividends
Statement of Implementation of Remuneration Policy in the following financial year
The current Remuneration Policy took effect following approval at the 2014 AGM.
Salaries and fees
Will be set in accordance with the Company’s Remuneration Policy (see pages 62 to 69).
2015 Short-Term Incentive (STI) scheme
In 2015 the Remuneration Committee proposes to grant awards to the Executive Directors under the Chesnara 2014 
Remuneration Policy. The table below and accompanying notes set out the performance measures, weightings and the potential 
outcomes for achieving minimum, on-target and maximum performance. The actual targets for each measure are commercially 
sensitive and will not be disclosed until 2016 together with the actual performance against those targets.
Measures 
Weightings  
Ranges and targets 
Potential outcomes in terms
of % of basic salary
Minimum  
   achievement  
(as % of  
Target  
target)   achievement  
Max  
   achievement  
(as % of  
Max
target)   achievement   achievement   achievement
Minimum  
Target  
IFRS	pre-tax	profit	
EEV	operating		
profit	
Group	strategic	
objectives	
50%		
30%		
20%		
75%		
Target		
200%		
90%		
Target		
150%		
75%		
Target		
125%		
–		
–		
–		
11.25%		
37.50%
9.60%		
22.50%
7.50%		
15.00%
The 2015 STI Scheme will be implemented and operated by 
the Remuneration Committee as set out within the 
Remuneration Policy (see the Future Policy table on pages 
64 to 66 and its accompanying notes).
Weightings
The weightings have been set by the Remuneration 
Committee. The financial measures that align most directly to 
shareholder benefit are generally assigned a higher weighting.
Measures
The three measures selected by the Remuneration 
Committee for 2015 ensure a balance between aligning 
Executive Director remuneration to shareholder returns 
whilst also recognising measures over which the Directors 
can exercise more immediate and direct influence. The 
IFRS pre-tax profit and EEV operating profit are recognised 
outputs from the audited year-end Financial Statements, 
although it should be noted that the Remuneration 
Committee is able to make discretionary adjustments if 
deemed necessary. The objectives assigned to each 
Executive Director are relevant to their roles and include 
major regulatory or business development initiatives for 
2015 that the Committee considers key to delivery of the 
Company’s business plan. Each individual development 
objective is assigned a “significance weighting” influenced 
by factors such as business criticality, scale, complexity 
and level of Executive Director influence. Developments 
with a higher significance are weighted more heavily when 
establishing the overall performance target.  
Targets
The IFRS pre-tax profit and EEV operating profit targets are 
initially based on the 2015 budgets produced as part of the 
2015 Group business planning process. The Group business 
plan is subject to rigorous Chesnara Board scrutiny and 
approval. The Remuneration Committee can make 
discretionary adjustments to either the targets or to the actual 
results for the year if it considers this to be appropriate.
Malus and Clawback
This Scheme includes malus and clawback provisions covering 
material misstatement, assessment error and misconduct if 
this arises within two years of an award vesting. 
77
CHESNARA | ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2014CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SECTION C 
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
DIRECTORS’ REMUNER ATION REPORT
ANNUAL REMUNER ATION REPORT (CONTINUED)
2015 Long-Term Incentive (LTI) scheme
In 2015 the Remuneration Committee proposes to grant awards to the Executive Directors under the Chesnara 2014 Long-Term 
Incentive Scheme. The table below and accompanying notes set out the performance measures, weightings and the potential 
outcomes relative to achieving minimum, on-target and maximum performance. The actual EEV target is commercially sensitive 
and will not be disclosed until 2018 together with the actual performance against those targets.
Measures 
Weightings  
Ranges and targets 
Potential outcomes in terms
of % of basic salary
Minimum  
   achievement  
Target  
(as % of  
target)   achievement  
Max  
   achievement  
Max
(as % of  
target)   achievement   achievement   achievement
Minimum  
Target  
TSR	
EEV	
50%		
50%		
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