Standard Life to receive £140m after Lloyds settlement

Standard Life Aberdeen said on Wednesday that it will receive an upfront payment of £140m from Lloyds Banking Group after the two companies settled a long-running dispute over asset management.

The settlement is in relation to a dispute between the parties concerning Lloyds' attempt to terminate investment management arrangements for its Scottish Widows portfolio with Standard Life three years early.

A tribunal found that LBG was not entitled to terminate these investment management arrangements back in March, leading to Wednesday's settlement agreement, which also stipulates that Standard Life will continue to manage approximately one third of the total assets under management, around £35bn, until at least April 2022.

The remaining two thirds will be transferred to Lloyds-appointed third-party managers over the next nine months, during which time Standard Life will continue to be remunerated for its services in relation to the transferring AUM.

Keith Skeoch, the chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen, said: "We are pleased with the settlement with Lloyds and believe that it represents a fair and positive outcome for both parties. We look forward to building on our relationship with Lloyds and continuing to deliver positive outcomes for their customers. The retention of assets in our passive strategies as well as active real estate portfolios positions us to benefit from scale and growth in these growing parts of the asset management industry."

Standard Life's shares were up 0.78% at 309.60p, while Lloyds Banking Group's shares were down 0.74% at 56.58p at 0831 BST.