M&G plc

As we approach the festive holidays, our Group Chief Executive Officer Andrea Rossi reflects on M&G’s achievements in 2024 and growth opportunities ahead, the vital role of collaboration in driving our purpose, and our impactful community partnerships.   Wishing everyone the very best this festive season.

The festive season is in full swing, and we're pleased to see the Mall at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol playing its part to help Santa with his preparations for the big day. For the second year in a row, more than 30,000 children are expected to meet Santa and his helpers at Cribbs Causeway as part of a festive storytelling series. M&G Real Estate was an original investor when the Mall was built in 1998. The Mall is very close to 100% occupancy after completing new lettings to a series of leading brands including Lego, Castore, KIKO Milano, Austen & Blake, Sweaty Betty, and Phase Eight. Complimented with continued year-on-year increases in footfall, we are delighted to see its growth and development. With M&G’s majority stake in Cribbs, it’s another example of our unique business model where our Life team deploys large scale capital, in this case through our PruFund range, and our Asset Management experts identify and actively manage long-term investment opportunities.

This year, M&G’s Season for Giving Appeal centred around homelessness and food poverty. We supported Social Bite with their aim of providing 300,000 meals, gifts, and donating essential items to homeless and vulnerable people across the UK. Our Corporate Responsibility Team are pictured here dropping off donations at the London Charing Cross Tree.   M&G colleagues around the world have also taken part, providing support to the most vulnerable at this time of year. A huge thank you to all our colleagues who got involved in the appeal to support our social ambition helping to create resilient, inclusive, and sustainable communities.   We’re also proud of our colleagues from across the globe who supported in our annual Go-Vember step challenge – walking over 97million steps collectively to raise money for charity. This year’s theme was “Turn Footsteps into Forests”, in partnership with our charity partner The Tree Council.

It was a pleasure to this week host our final Winning Behaviours colleague event alongside my Group Executive Committee colleagues, Matt Howells, Chief People Officer, and Louise Shield, Director of Corporate Affairs. At the start of 2024 we launched a series of engaging events, organised by Matt and his team, to support and bring to life M&G plc's growth ambitions and strategic priorities for colleagues. With over 6,000 colleagues attending globally, we’ve used these events to reflect, create new ways to collaborate positively, and support our customers, clients and advisers. This week we were joined by Matt Lindley – a former RAF fast jet pilot – who shared personal insights from his career. It was a fascinating and fast-paced discussion, and it showed the importance of communication and teamwork.   After listening I must admit, I think I’ll stick to working with my team in the boardroom, rather than on a jet moving at 500+ mph!

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of our former colleague Martin Moore, the former Managing Director of M&G Real Estate, who has passed away after a brief illness. Martin joined the Estates Dept of Prudential Plc, one of the predecessor companies of what is today M&G Real Estate, in September 1974 and dedicated almost 40 years of his career to M&G.   During his time with the business, Martin rose through the ranks to take on a host of senior leadership and executive positions and was one of the leading figures in commercial real estate investment globally. He was particularly proud of setting up the Asia JV with Prudential Corporation Asia in May 2006, which now forms a significant part of the M&G Real Estate business we have today.   Martin was instrumental in shaping the careers of senior figures in the industry – past and present – who were, at one time or another, part of his team. He will be deeply missed by many at M&G and will be remembered as a warm-hearted and natural leader who made everyone feel valued. On behalf of everyone at M&G, we send our deepest condolences to his wife, his children and grandchildren.

This year's M&G Techfest, themed 'Igniting the Power of Innovation', proved popular once again, showcasing the creativity and collaboration of our global team as we develop new ways to support business growth and client outcomes. Organised by our Technology team, led by Chris Cochrane, M&G's Chief Information Technology Officer, Techfest aims to explore the latest advances in technology and innovation, and the event was a resounding success.   We hosted 32 inspiring sessions across five locations - London, Mumbai, Luxembourg, Singapore and Scotland - bringing together over 1,500 colleagues, business partners and stakeholders from around the world. Colleagues had the opportunity to network, collaborate and immerse themselves in the latest technology trends through hands-on demonstrations and interactive workshops. The insights gained from Techfest provide us with opportunities to evolve our business and improve customer and client experiences through AI and innovation. Chris is pictured below with colleagues in Mumbai during Techfest. Zahabiya Officewala, Managing Director of M&G Global Services Private Limited, Benoît Macé, Chief Strategy and Transformation Office, and Kathryn McLeland, Chief Financial Officer, also joined the events in India.   Techfest fosters a culture of innovation and forward thinking that is essential to support M&G's growth ambitions, our customer relationships and our continued success in the digital age.

Last week in London, colleagues participating in our Talent Acceleration Programme came together for the final event of the year. They were joined by Charlotte Heiss, M&G’s General Counsel and Company Secretary, and Robert Lewis, Chief Auditor, for an engaging and insightful session. Now in its third successful year, this 12-month initiative empowers a diverse group of high-potential colleagues from across M&G to accelerate their career growth. Participants collaborate on key projects, aligned with M&G’s growth ambitions, while also gaining invaluable insight through direct engagement with members of our Group Executive Committee and senior leaders. Last week’s flagship session, hosted by Pete O'Rourke, our HR Chief Operating Officer, and supported by programme leads Naomi C. and Tom Baker, featured a reflective conversation with Charlotte and Rob. Together the group explored lessons learned, celebrated achievements and discussed the impact of the skills developed throughout the year. To find out more about careers at M&G please visit: https://lnkd.in/eFKWAZh5

This made us smile! It’s been a privilege to collaborate with The Tree Council and the Young Tree Champions for nearly five years - reaching more than 250,000 pupils and teachers. We support The Tree Council on impactful nature-based projects that connect pupils and teachers to trees and nature, helping to educate children around climate change and ecological challenges. Happy #NationalTreeWeek🌲

We are thrilled to announce our commitment of £50m to the Invest in Women Taskforce funding pot. This is dedicated to empowering female investors across the UK to, in turn, support female founders. M&G has allocated this £50m from Catalyst - our purpose-led flexible private assets strategy - which invests in innovative solutions to some of the world’s biggest environmental and social challenges. By contributing to the Taskforce's funding pot, we are joining forces with other industry leaders to address the funding gap faced by women-led businesses and to foster a more inclusive and equitable investment ecosystem. This allocation by M&G reaffirms our commitment to playing our part in closing the gender funding gap and driving an ambitious inclusive growth agenda for the UK.   We look forward to joining industry peers at Mansion House in London this evening for a reception to celebrate the launch of the Taskforce.   #InvestInWomen #FemaleEntrepreneurs 

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Value Share Bulk Purchase Annuity (“BPA”) proposition by completing a c.£500m transaction with a private Corporate Sponsor and its UK Pension Scheme, insuring c.3,200 pensioner and deferred members. The Value Share BPA, developed by M&G, offers an innovative alternative to a traditional buy-in. This structure allows Trustees to insure Scheme members in the same way as a regular buy-in transaction, continuing to place members’ security at the heart of the transaction. Uniquely, however, it also allows the Corporate Sponsor to share in the profit, and potential risks, generated from insuring their well-funded UK pension schemes. This enables the Trustees to achieve de-risking objectives and secure members’ benefits, whilst enabling the Corporate Sponsor to access the upside, and downside, that would be passed to an insurer in a traditional buy-in transaction.   M&G re-entered the bulk annuity market in September 2023 and has since written circa £1.4 billion of new business, including this transaction. To support Clive Bolton, CEO of M&G Life, and M&G’s wider growth strategy, Kerrigan Procter will join as Managing Director of our Corporate Risk Solutions team in January 2025.   For full details of this transaction please visit: https://lnkd.in/eFUVkyYa If you are a Trustee, Sponsor, adviser or interested party you can follow DB Solutions at M&G for more information.