Rothesay was founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of
Goldman Sachs as a specialist annuity insurer. In 2008 it completed its first pension buy-out transaction, covering the defined benefit pension scheme of
The Rank Group. In 2010, Rothesay agreed to acquire specialist bulk annuity insurer Paternoster, and completed the deal in January 2011, adding a large in-force annuity book. In 2013, Goldman Sachs agreed to sell a majority stake in Rothesay to funds managed by
Blackstone and GIC, with
MassMutual acquiring a minority holding, the transaction completed in December 2013. Goldman exited in 2017, then Blackstone sold its interest in 2020 which left GIC and MassMutual as shareholders. In 2014 the European Commission approved Rothesay's acquisition of MetLife Assurance Limited in the United Kingdom. Rothesay later reported that the acquisition completed in May 2014. In 2016 Rothesay agreed to acquire a portfolio of annuities from
Aegon's UK business. In August 2017, Austria's Financial Market Authority said that Zurich Assurance Ltd had transferred some life insurance contracts to Rothesay Life plc. In 2019, a proposed transfer of about £12 billion of
Prudential UK annuities was initially refused by the High Court. The
Court of Appeal set that decision aside in 2020 and the High Court sanctioned the transfer on 24 November 2021 with an effective date of 15 December 2021. In 2020 the company rebranded from Rothesay Life to Rothesay. In September 2022, co-founder Tom Pearce became chief executive, succeeding Addy Loudiadis. In March 2024 Rothesay agreed to acquire
Scottish Widows’ in-force bulk annuity portfolio from
Lloyds Banking Group.. The High Court approved the transfer on 14 May 2025 and completion took effect on 11 June 2025. == Operations ==