Edinburgh-based Aegon UK — owned by Dutch investment giant Aegon NV — said on Thursday its 2020 first-half underlying earnings rose 17% to £71 million compared with the first half of 2019.

Aegon UK said its total assets “largely rebounded” and now stand at £174 billion – close to the level where they started the year.  

Aegon UK CEO Mike Holliday-Williams said: “We have a resilient business that has performed well in challenging markets and our earnings grew 17% on the previous six months to £71m.

“The growth in earnings reflects an 11% reduction in our cost base as we realise the benefits of having consolidated our platforms on a common set of technology. 

“The gradual recovery in stock markets following the coronavirus sell-off has meant that total assets in the business have largely rebounded and now stand at £174bn – close to the level where they started the year. 

“We currently manage £143bn of customer money via our platforms which were the big drivers of sales and account for a growing proportion of our earnings.

“Gross deposits more than doubled during the period to £6.4bn, while net deposit totalled £1.8bn.”