Scottish Friendly

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scottish Friendly is a UK mutual life and investments organisation based in Glasgow. It offers long-term insurance and investment products for individuals and also serves other financial firms. The company operates across the United Kingdom and Ireland, with more than 838,000 members and over 1 million policyholders. As of 31 December 2023, it managed assets of more than £4.6 billion and employs around 350 people. It has three main subsidiaries: Scottish Friendly Asset Managers Limited, Scottish Friendly Insurance Services Limited, and SFIS (Nominees) Limited.

Founded in 1862 as the City of Glasgow Friendly Society, Scottish Friendly began in Glasgow and expanded with branches across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England. In 1992 it became an incorporated organisation and adopted the Scottish Friendly name after a merger with another small friendly society. The headquarters moved to Blythswood Square in Glasgow in 1994. Throughout the 2000s it grew through acquisitions and partnerships, including taking over Scottish Legal Life in 2007 and, in 2015, acquiring Marine & General Mutual, which doubled its assets at the time. In 2019 it bought a large book of business from Canada Life, increasing assets to over £5 billion and boosting its member base.

Scottish Friendly also runs the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour, which began in 1998 to support reading and literacy. Leadership includes Stephen McGee as chief executive, John McGuigan as chairman and Alan Rankine as chief financial officer. The company has earned industry recognition, including awards for mutual insurer status and for its Junior ISA products.