Charles is an experienced corporate and regulatory adviser with over 28 years’ experience in the insurance industry. He advises on a wide range of matters, including M&A, transfers of business under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, schemes of arrangement and business reorganisations. His clients include consolidators, private equity and other investors, mutuals and start-ups, and he has extensive experience of advising on with-profits businesses.
Expertise
- Transfers of business under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 – Part VII transfers
- Mergers and Acquisitions – M&A
- Schemes of arrangement to restructure insurance businesses
- With-profits advice
- Business reorganisations
- Corporate governance
- Insurance
Experience
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Advised Canada Life on the sale of its £2.3 billion legacy business to Scottish Friendly.
- Advised Mapfre on its acquisition of Direct Line’s German and Italian insurance business.
- Advising Qatar Insurance Company on its acquisition of the Lloyd’s business, Antares.
- Advised Paternoster on its sale to Goldman Sachs.
- Advised Teachers Friendly Society on its demutualisation and sale to LV.
- Advised Equitable Life on the sale of annuity businesses and on its final sale structure.
- Advised AXA on its disposal of Denplan to Simplyhealth.
- Advised Phoenix on the sale of annuity businesses and on various possible acquisitions.
- Advised bank syndicates on the restructuring of the Phoenix Group and its sale to Liberty Holdings, a Cayman-incorporated SPAC.
- Advised on various demutualisations of insurance businesses, including Standard Life, NPI and National Mutual.
Business reorganisations
- Advised Prudential on its £13 billion transfer of its Hong Kong life and general insurance businesses from its main UK insurer to a Hong Kong company using parallel Court processes in the UK and Hong Kong.
- Advised Royal London on the restructuring of pension policies by way of a scheme of arrangement to give customers better access to pension freedoms.
- Advised Phoenix on the integration and restructuring of its insurance businesses by way of a series of insurance business transfers and schemes of arrangement.
- Advised Prudential on the integration of its insurance businesses under two insurance business transfers and on proposals to undertake a reattribution of its inherited estate.
- Advised M&G on the merger of its Scottish Amicable with-profits fund with its main with-profits fund.
With-profits advice
- Advised Prudential on its £13 billion transfer of its Hong Kong life and general insurance businesses from its main UK insurer to a Hong Kong company using parallel Court processes in the UK and Hong Kong.
- Advised Royal London on the restructuring of pension policies by way of a scheme of arrangement to give customers better access to pension freedoms.
- Advised Phoenix on the integration and restructuring of its insurance businesses by way of a series of insurance business transfers and schemes of arrangement.
- Advised Prudential on the integration of its insurance businesses under two insurance business transfers and on proposals to undertake a reattribution of its inherited estate.
- Advised M&G on the merger of its Scottish Amicable with-profits fund with its main with-profits fund.
- Advised Canada Life on the sale of its £2.3 billion legacy business to Scottish Friendly.
- Advised Teachers Friendly Society on its demutualisation and sale to LV.
- Advised Equitable Life on the sale of annuity businesses and on its final sale structure.
- Advised Phoenix on the sale of annuity businesses and on various possible acquisitions.
- Advised bank syndicates on the restructuring of the Phoenix Group and its sale to Liberty Holdings, a Cayman-incorporated SPAC.
- Advised on various demutualisations of insurance businesses, including Standard Life, NPI and National Mutual.
Other
- Advised Santander on the reorganisation of its UK Group, including the Part VII transfer of the business of Alliance & Leicester to Santander UK.
- Advised Pool Re on its strategic review and relationship with HM Treasury.
- Advised HM Treasury on recovery and resolution planning for banks and insurers, and on bank ring-fencing.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Ranked in the Hall of Fame by The Legal 500 2025 for Insurance: Corporate and Regulatory
Acknowledged by Chambers 2025 as an accomplished insurance practitioner with great depth of experience. He regularly handles large M&A deals, portfolio transfers and corporate reorganisations in the insurance sector.
Ranked as Senior Statesman by Chambers UK (2013-2024) for Insurance: Non-contentious
“Charles Rix is an experienced and established practitioner.” Chambers 2024
“He is totally embedded in the [insurance] industry and knows market practice and the way the regulators have developed over the years.” Chambers 2023
Ranked in the Hall of Fame by The Legal 500 2022 for Insurance: Corporate and Regulatory
Ranked as a Global Leader by Who’s Who Legal 2021 Insurance & Reinsurance
Editor of two editions of The Practitioner’s Guide to the Regulation of Insurance (Sweet & Maxwell, 2014 and 2020) and co-author of two chapters, on the Regulation of Long-Term Insurance and on Portfolio Transfers and Solvent Schemes of Arrangement
Career
Charles qualified as a solicitor in 1991. Prior to joining Keystone Law, he worked at the following firms:
- Hogan Lovells
- Freshfields